THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


The  music  carried  them  far  away  on  golden  wings  of  melody. 

(See  page  190) 


NAN    SHERWOOD 


PALM  BEACH 


OR 

STRANGE  ADVENTURES  AMONG 
THE  ORANGE  GROVES 


BY 

ANNIE  ROE  CARR 

Author  of   "Nan   Sherwood   at   Pine   Camp,"   "Nan 

Sherwood's  Winter  Holidays,"  "Nan  Sherwood 

at  Rose  Ranch,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

GEORGE  SULLY  &  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


BOOKS     FOR     GIRLS 

BY 

ANNIE  ROE  CARR 


NAN  SHERWOOD  AT  PINE  CAMP 

Or  The  Old  Lumberman's  Secret 
NAN    SHERWOOD    AT    LAKEVIEW 
HALL 
Or  The  Mystery  of  the  Haunted  Boat- 

house 

NAN   SHERWOOD'S  WINTER  HOLI- 
DAYS 

Or  Rescuing  the  Runaways 
NAN  SHERWOOD  AT  ROSE  RANCH 

Or  The  Old  Mexican's  Treasure 
NAN  SHERWOOD  AT  PALM  BEACH 
Or    Strange    Adventures    Among    the 
Orange  Groves 

GEORGE   SULLY   &   COMPANY 


Nan  Skecwfod^itf  JPpfyn  $each 


Printed  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  THE  CRASH  ON  THE  HILL     ...  I 

II.  NEARLY  A  TRAGEDY          .     .,     .     .  13 

III.  THE  OLD  LADY      .......  20 

M 

IV.  SOLVING  A  PROBLEM 27 

00 

V.  CALLED  TO  ACCOUNT 34 

5 

VI.  A  GLORIOUS  PROSPECT      ....  41 

VII.  IN  THE  DORMITORY 47 

VIII.  ON  THE  ROAD 55 

t^  vv 

m               IX.  THE  JOY  OF  GIVING 62 

X.  A  MIDNIGHT  FEAST     ......  69 

XI.  A  DANGEROUS  PLOT 76 

g             XII.  ALMOST  A  DISASTER 85 

XIII.  THE  WILY   STRANGER     ....  94 

•> 

XIV.  GREAT  EXPECTATIONS  ......    104 

XV.  WE'RE  OFF! 114 

XVI.  FUN  AND  NONSENSE    .....  123 

XVII.  THE  MYSTERIOUS  MEN     ....  131 

XVIII.  A  STARTLING  REVELATION     .     .     ,  138 

iii 


452509 


VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XIX.  AN  ATTEMPTED  THEFT     ....  147 

XX.  THOSE  MEN  AGAIN     .....  156 

XXI.  THE  BEGINNING  OF  ROMANCE    .     .  165 

XXII.  PALM  BEACH  AT  LAST     ....  173 

XXIII.  A  TROPICAL  PARADISE     .     .     .     .  181 

XXIV.  NAN  Is  FRIGHTENED 188 

XXV.  MOONLIGHT       ..     ......  198 

XXVI.  WORTH  A  FORTUNE     .     .     .     .     .  208 

XXVII.  WALTER  TO  THE  RESCUE    .     .     .     .  217 

XXVIII.  CAUGHT 228 

XXIX.  "WHEN  THE  SPIRIT  MOVES"    ...    .  237 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  music  carried  them  far  away  on  the  golden 

wings  of  melody.     (Page  190)    .       Frontispiece 


FACING 
PAGE 


The  three  girls  bent  eagerly  over  Mrs.  Bragley 

as  she  opened  one  paper  after  another        .      65 

Nan's  eyes  were  following  the  figures  of  two 

men  strolling  down  the  deck       .        .        .     140 

He  pushed  Nan  from  him  with  such  force  that 

she  stumbled  and  fell   ,         .  „    216 


NAN  SHERWOOD 
AT  PALM  BEACH 


CHAPTER  I 

THE    CRASH    ON    THE    HILL 

"SMOOTH  as  glass!"  ejaculated  Nan  Sherwood, 
as  she  came  in  sight  of  Pendragon  Hill  and  noted 
the  gleaming  stretch  of  snow  and  ice  that  ran  down 
to  the  very  edge  of  Lake  Huron. 

"And  you're  the  girl  that  said  coasting  time  would 
never,  never  come,"  laughed  her  chum,  Bess  Har- 
ley,  who  was  walking  beside  her  with  her  hand  on 
a  rope  attached  to  a  bobsled  that  four  girls  were 
drawing. 

"Never  is  a  long  word,"  admitted  Nan.  "I  didn't 
quite  mean  that ;  but  the  weather's  been  so  mild  up 
to  now  that  I  was  getting  desperate." 

"Nan  registering  desperation,"  put  in  Daura 
Polk,  she  of  the  red  hair  and  irrepressible  spirits. 

Laura  struck  an  attitude  of  mock  desperation,  but 
the  effect  was  marred  when  her  foot  slipped  and  she 
went  down  with  a  thump. 

I 


2  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Her  laughing  mates  helped  her  to  her  feet  and 
brushed  the  snow  off  her  dress. 

"The  wicked  stand  on  slippery  places,"  quoted 
Grace  Mason  mischievously. 

"Yes,"  Laura  came  back,  as  quick  as  a  flash",  "I 
see  that  they  do,  but  I  can't." 

The  shout  of  laughter  that  followed  atoned  some- 
what for  her  loss  of  dignity — although  she  had  not 
lost  much,  for  Laura  and  dignity  were  hardly  on 
speaking  terms. 

Laughing  and  chattering,  all  trying  to  talk  at  once 
and  all  succeeding,  the  bevy  of  light-hearted  girls 
reached  the  top  of  the  hill. 

Before  them  stretched  Lake  Huron,  extending 
farther  than  their  eyes  could  see.  For  a  long  dis- 
tance out  from  shore  the  lake  seemed  frozen  solid. 
A  small  island  rose  above  the  ice  about  half  a  mile 
distant,  and  this  was  the  limit  fixed  upon  for  the 
coasters.  The  cove  between  the  foot  of  the  hill  and 
the  island  had  a  glassy  coating  of  ice  that  had  been 
swept  and  scraped  and  served  for  skating  as  well 
as  coasting. 

"I  wonder  if  it's  perfectly  safe,"  remarked  Grace 
Mason,  a  little  timidly.  "You  know  this  is  the  first 
time  the  cove's  been  frozen  this  winter,  and  we 
haven't  tried  it  yet." 

"Bless  your  little  heart,  you'll  be  as  safe  as  if  you 
were  on  a  battlefield,"  was  the  dubious  comfort  that 
Laura  held  out. 


The  Crash  on  the  Hill  3 

"Much  safer  than  that,"  interposed  Professor 
Krenner,  the  teacher  of  mathematics  and  architec- 
tural drawing  at  the  Lakeview  Hall  school  that  the 
girls  were  attending.  "You  can  be  sure  that  neither 
Dr.  Prescott  nor  I  would  take  any  chances  on  that 
score.  A  heavy  logging  team  went  over  it  yester- 
day, and  the  ice  didn't  even  creak,  let  alone  crack. 
And  every  day  that  passes  of  this  kind  of  weather 
makes  it  thicker  and  stronger." 

"My,  but  that's  a  comfort,"  remarked  Laura. 
"I'd  hate  to  have  this  young  life  of  mine  cut  off  just 
when  it's  so  full  of  promise." 

"How  Laura  hates  herself,"  put  in  Bess  Harley. 

"You're  perfectly  safe,  Laura,"  Nan  assured  her. 
"Only  the  good  die  young,  you  know." 

The  professor's  kindly  eyes  twinkled  as  he  looked 
from  one  to  the  other  of  the  rosy-cheeked,  spark- 
ling-eyed girls,  bubbling  over  with  fun  and  vitality. 
He  had  just  come  up  from  the  queer  little  cabin  in 
which  he  lived  at  the  edge  of  the  lake.  It  was  part 
of  his  work  to  supervise  the  coasting  and,  as  far 
as  possible,  keep  it  free  from  accident. 

About  his  sole  diversion  was  playing  on  a  key 
bugle,  and  the  long-drawn-out  notes  of  the  instru- 
ment, sometimes  lively  and  sometimes  in  a  minor 
strain,  were  familiar  sounds  to  the  girls,  and  often 
an  occasion  of  jesting. 

Professor  Krenner  held  the  bugle  in  his  hand  now, 
and  after  glancing  at  his  watch,  he  raised  the  in- 


4  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

strument  to  his  lips  and  blew  a  clear  call  that  had 
the  effect  of  hastening  the  steps  of  some  of  the 
groups  that  were  coming  toward  the  hill  from  the 
Hall,  the  roof  of  which  could  be  seen  over  the  tops 
of  the  trees. 

Outdoor  sports  were  made  much  of  at  Lakeview 
Hall,  not  only  in  the  catalogue  designed  for  the 
perusal  of  parents,  but  in  actual  fact.  "A  sound 
mind  in  a  sound  body"  was  Dr.  Beulah  Prescott's 
aim  for  her  pupils,  and  exercise  was  as  obligatory 
as  lessons.  None  was  excused  without  an  adequate 
reason,  and  the  group  upon  the  hill  grew  in  numbers 
until  it  seemed  as  though  all  the  members  of  the 
school  were  present  except  the  smaller  girls,  who 
had  a  slide  of  their  own. 

"All  here  except  the  queen,"  remarked  Laura,  as 
she  looked  around  her. 

"The  queen?"  repeated  Bess  Harley,  staring  at 
her. 

"Queen  Linda  of  Chicago,"  explained  Laura,  with 
a  wicked  twinkle  in  her  eye. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  don't  ever  let  Linda  Riggs 
hear  you  say  anything  like  that,  Laura  Polk,"  ad- 
monished Bess.  "She's  so  conceited  that  she 
wouldn't  know  it  was  sarcasm.  She'd  think  it  was 
a  tribute  drawn  from  an  unwilling  admirer." 

"I  know,"  laughed  Laura.  "It  doesn't  take  mucK 
to  set  her  up.  If  she  had  water  on  the  brain,  she'd 
think  she  was  the  whole  ocean." 


The   Crash  on  the  Hill  5 

"Here  she  comes  now,"  remarked  Nan,  after  the 
laughter  caused  by  Laura's  sally  had  subsided. 

A  tall  girl,  wearing  expensive  furs  and  having  a 
supercilious  air,  came  along  with  two  or  three  com- 
panions. It  was  noticeable  that  she  left  to  them  the 
work  of  drawing  the  bobsled,  while  she  sauntered 
along,  ostentatiously  adjusting  her  furs  as  though 
she  sought  to  call  attention  to  their  quality. 

"Hurry  up,  Linda,"  called  out  Laura.  "I  believe 
you'd  be  late  at  your  own  funeral." 

"I  never  get  anywhere  early,"  snapped  Linda. 
"It  isn't  good  form.  When  I  go  to  the  theater  I 
always  get  in  late.  I  always  have  the  best  seat  that 
money  can  buy  reserved  for  me,  so  what's  the  use 
of  hurrying?  Of  course  it's  different  when  one  has 
to  go  early  and  scramble  for  a  seat." 

"That  may  be  your  habit  in  Chicago,  but  it  isn't 
in  favor  here,  Miss  Riggs,"  said  Professor  Kren- 
ner  dryly.  "But  now  that  all  seem  to  be  here,  we'll 
start  the  races.  You  understand  that  all  sleds  are 
to  keep  three  minutes  apart  so  as  to  avoid  accident. 
The  course  is  straight  out  on  the  lake,  and  the  best 
two  out  of  three  trials  win  the  race.  Miss  Sher- 
wood, since  you  are  nearest  the  starting  line,  sup- 
pose you  get  your  sled  in  position  to  lead  off.  Not 
so  fast,  Miss  Riggs,"  he  went  on,  as  Linda  tried  to 
shove  her  sled  to  the  crest  of  the  hill.  "I  said  Miss 
Sherwood  was  to  go  first." 

"I  don't  see  why  I  should  have  to  wait,"  pouted 


6  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Linda,  as  she  reluctantly  drew  back  her  sled  before 
the  decided  look  in  the  professor's  eye.  "Hateful 
old  thing,"  she  remarked  in  a  low  voice  to  her  spe- 
cial friend  and  intimate,  Cora  Courtney.  "He  fav- 
ors Sherwood  because  she  attends  his  poky  old  lec- 
tures on  architectural  drawing  and  pretends  she 
likes  them." 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  that  were  just  it," 
replied  Cora,  who  made  a  habit  of  agreeing  with 
the  rich  friend  whose  friendship  often  proved  profit- 
able to  Cora.  She  had  no  money  herself  but  clung 
closely  to  those  who  had. 

"Who  was  it,"  asked  Rhoda  Hammond  in  an 
amused  whisper  of  Nan,  "who  wrote  an  essay  once 
on  the  'gentle  art  of  making  enemies'  ?" 

"I'm  not  sure,"  laughed  Nan  in  reply,  "but  I 
think  it  was  Whistler.  Why  do  you  ask  ?" 

"Because,"  replied  Rhoda  in  the  same  low  voice, 
"I  think  he  must  have  had  Linda  or  somebody  just 
like  her  in  mind,  for  she  has  the  art  down  to  per- 
fection." 

There  would  have  been  little  dissent  from  Rhoda's 
verdict,  for  Linda  had  few  real  friends  among  the 
girls  of  Lakeview  Hall.  She  was  purse-proud  and 
vulgar,  and,  though  her  money  gave  her  a  certain 
prestige  among  the  shallow  and  unthinking,  she 
lacked  the  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  to  endear  her- 
self to  any  one. 

By  this  time  the  girls  who  were  going  with  Nan 


The  Crash  on  the  Hill  7 

had  taken  their  places  on  the  sled.  It  was  a  new 
one  that  Nan  had  received  as  a  present  from  her 
father,  and  it  had  not  yet  been  tested.  Nan  had 
named  it  the  Silver  Arrow,  and  she  had  high  hopes 
that  its  speed  would  justify  the  name. 

Nan  sat  at  the  head,  with  the  steering  wheel  in 
her  hands.  The  wind  had  brought  the  roses  to  her 
cheeks,  and  her  clear  eyes  shone  like  stars.  Be- 
hind her  in  order  sat  Bess  Harley,  Rhoda  Ham- 
mond, Grace  Mason  and  Laura  Polk,  each  girl 
holding  tightly  to  the  belt  of  the  girl  in  front 

"All  ready?"  asked  the  professor. 

"All  ready,  Professor,"  was  Nan's  reply,  as  her 
hands  tightened  on  the  wheel. 

Professor  Krenner  lifted  the  bugle  to  his  lips  and 
gave  a  clear,  sonorous  blast  that  served  at  the  same 
time  as  a  signal  for  starting  and  as  a  warning  to 
any  one  who  might  be  crossing  the  path  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill. 

Then  he  tipped  the  sled  over  the  ridge  of  the  hill 
and  it  started  on  its  journey. 

For  a  mere  fraction  of  a  second  it  seemed  to 
poise  itself  for  flight.  Then  it  moved,  slowly  at 
first,  but  gathering  speed  with  every  second,  until  it 
seemed  to  be  flying  like  an  arrow  from  the  bow. 

There  were  delighted  and  at  the  same  time  some- 
what fearful  squeals  from  the  girls,  as  the  wind 
whistled  past  their  ears  while  the  sled  flew  on  at  a 
speed  that  quickly  reached  a  mile  a  minute.  They 


8  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

* 

held  ion  to  each  other  for  dear  life,  but  Nan  had  no 
eyes  or  thought  for  anything  except  that  shining 
ribbon  of  path. 

She  made  the  turn  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  the  sled 
yielding  to  her  slightest  touch,  and  she  only  breathed 
freely  when  it  shot  out  on  the  lake  and  there  were 
no  further  obstacles  to  circumvent  or  fear. 

On,  on  it  went  like  a  thing  of  life,  as  though  it 
would  never  tire,  and  Nan's  heart  beat  fast  as  she 
realized  that  she  was  going  to  make  a  better  mark 
than  she  had  ever  done  before. 

But  gradually  the  weight  on  the  level  surface  be- 
gan to  tell,  and  the  bobsled  slowed  up  as  though  it 
were  as  reluctant  as  its  passengers  to  find  itself  at 
its  journey's  end. 

There  was  a  chorus  of  joyous  exclamations  from 
the  girls,  as  they  rose  to  their  feet  and  noted  how 
far  out  they  were  on  the  lake. 

"What  a  perfectly  lovely  sled !"  exclaimed  Rhoda 
Hammond.  "I  never  had  such  a  ride  as  that  in  my 
life." 

"You  darling!"  said  Nan  impulsively,  as  she 
patted  the  wheel  of  her  treasure. 

"The  other  girls  will  have  to  go  some  to  come 
anywhere  near  that  mark,"  bubbled  Bess. 

"Linda  will  be  green  with  jealousy,"  laughed 
Laura.  "She  thinks  that  that  Gay  Girl  of  hers  is 
the  fastest  thing  that  ever  wore  runners." 

"She'll  take  it  as  a  personal  affront  if  she  doesn't 


The  Crash  on  the  Hill  9 

win,"  giggled  Grace.  "I  wish  she'd  come  along 
while  we're  here.  I'd  like  to  see  just  how  far  we've 
beaten  her." 

"We  haven't  beaten  her  yet,"  observed  Nan,  "and 
perhaps  it's  just  as  well  not  to  be  too  sure.  But 
now  let's  get  our  skates  on  and  pull  the  sled  back. 
There  are  to  be  three  trials,  you  know." 

They  took  their  skates  from  their  shoulders  and 
adjusted  them  with  nimble  fingers.  It  was  the  work 
of  only  a  few  moments.  Then  they  rose,  patted 
down  their  dresses  and  struck  out  for  the  shore, 
drawing  the  sled  behind  them. 

They  had  to  keep  a  wary  lookout  for  the  other 
sleds.  One  came  rushing  along  with  its  laughing 
crew,  but  they  could  see  at  a  glance  that  it  was  not 
making  the  speed  that  their  own  had  reached.  Just 
as  they  reached  the  edge  of  the  lake,  another  sled 
flew  past,  and  amid  the  bevy  of  girls  on  it  they 
discerned  Linda  Riggs. 

"There  goes  the  Gay  Girl"  remarked  Rhoda 
Hammond. 

"And  she's  going  like  the  wind,  too,"  chimed  in 
Bess  a  little  anxiously.  "Let's  wait  here  a  mo- 
ment, girls.  I  want  to  see  how  far  out  she  goes." 

"I  do  hope  she  won't  beat  our  mark,"  said  Grace, 
as  she  snuggled  her  fur  more  closely  about  her 
neck. 

They  watched  with  straining  eyes  as  Linda's  sled 
gradually  slowed  up,  and  a  sigh  of  relief  came  from 


io  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach! 

all  when  they  saw  that  it  stopped  about  a  hundred 
feet  this  side  of  the  spot  that  they  had  reached. 

"She  didn't  beat  us !"  cried  Bess  exultantly. 

"Too  close  to  be  comfortable,  though,"  mur- 
mured Nan,  as  her  eyes  measured  the  distance. 

"Well,  a  miss  is  as  good  as  a  mile,"  declared 
Rhoda. 

"We're  all  right  so  far,  as  the  man  said  as  he 
was  passing  the  second  floor  after  falling  seven- 
teen stories,"  put  in  Laura. 

"Let's  get  every  ounce  out  of  the  Silver  Arrow 
on  the  next  try,"  adjured  Grace,  as,  after  having 
taken  off  their  skates,  they  were  trudging  up  the 
hill. 

By  the  time  they  reached  the  top,  most  of  the 
other  sleds  had  been  sent  off  and  they  had  not  long 
to  wait.  They  settled  themselves  firmly  in  their 
seats. 

"Let's  clinch  it  now,"  laughed  Nan,  as  she  took 
the  wheel.  "Just  put  on  your  wishing  caps  and 
wish  as  hard  as  you  can,  and  the  Silver  Arrow  will 
do  the  rest." 

"I'm  wishing  so  hard  that  it  hurts,"  gurgled  Bess. 

"If  wishing  will  do  it,  we've  won  already," 
chimed  in  Laura.  "We're  all  ready,  Professor." 

A  clear  call  from  the  bugle,  a  helping  hand  over 
the  ridge,  and  the  Silver  Arrow  was  off  again. 

It  may  have  been  due  to  the  more  slippery  con- 
dition of  the  hill  caused  by  the  sleds  that  had  al- 


The  Crash  on  the  Hill  n 

ready  passed  over  it,  but  there  was  no  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  the  girls  that  the  bobsled  was  going  even 
more  swiftly  than  it  had  at  first.  They  were  al- 
most frightened  at  the  speed  it  developed,  and  yet 
they  were  delighted,  for  they  had  set  their  minds 
on  beating  their  earlier  mark. 

Halfway  down  the  hill  they  passed  Linda  and  her 
group,  who  had  drawn  up  at  one  side  to  let  them 
pass.  Even  at  that  breakneck  rate  of  speed  they 
could  see  the  sneer  on  Linda's  lips  as  she  recog- 
nized the  sled  and  its  crew. 

But  they  were  nearing  the  curve  now  and  Nan's 
eyes  were  fastened  on  the  path  ahead  while  she 
tightly  gripped  the  wheel. 

"Hold  fast,  girls!"  she  warned,  as  they  neared 
the  bend  in  the  road  and  the  sled  swerved  at  her 
touch. 

The  next  instant  they  rounded  the  curve,  and  a 
cry  of  horror  burst  from  their  lips. 

Directly  in  their  path  was  an  elderly  woman  who 
had  just  started  across  the  road. 

She  looked  up  as  she  heard  them  scream.  Ter- 
ror and  bewilderment  came  into  her  face.  She 
started  back,  then  forward.  Then,  utterly  para- 
lyzed with  fright,  she  stood  helpless  in  the  path  of 
the  bobsled  that  was  rushing  toward  her  with  the 
speed  of  an  express  train. 

The  girls  shouted  at  her,  but  her  brain,  numbed 
by  fear,  refused  to  act. 


fl'2  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Oh,  she'll  be  killed!"  wailed  Grace. 

"Oh,  Nan,  can't  you  do  something?"  cried  Bess 
frantically. 

Nan's  brain  was  working  like  lightning.  She 
was  white  to  the  lips,  but  never  for  an  instant  did 
she  lose  her  presence  of  mind. 

At  the  left  of  the  road  was  an  almost  solid  row 
of  trees.  It  was  certain  death  to  turn  that  way. 
At  the  right  there  was  an  opening  that  led  into  a 
little  glade.  She  determined  to  steer  into  that. 

She  swerved  the  sled  in  that  direction.  She  could 
have  made  it  if  the  woman  had  remained  where  she 
was.  But  just  then  she  backed  a  step  to  the  right. 
The  sled  struck  her  and  hurled  her  aside,  and  she 
went  down  with  a  scream. 


CHAPTER  II 

NEARLY    A    TRAGEDY 

THE  collision  changed  the  direction  of  the  bob- 
sled, and  by  the  merest  fraction  it  escaped  striking 
a  tree.  Nan,  however,  despite  her  mental  anguish, 
kept  her  head  and  dexterously  guided  it  into  the 
glade,  where  it  found  soft  snow  and  gradually  came 
to  a  stop. 

Then  the  frightened  girls  rose  and  rushed  as  fast 
as  they  could  toward  the  victim  of  the  accident,  who 
was  lying  still  in  a  heap  of  snow  at  the  side  of  the 
road. 

Nan  dropped  on  the  snow  beside  her  and  took 
her  head  in  her  arms,  while  Rhoda  put  her  hand  on 
the  woman's  heart. 

"Oh,"  sobbed  Grace,  "we've  killed  her!" 

"No,  we  haven't,"  replied  Rhoda.  "I  can  feel 
that  her  heart  is  beating.  She's  fainted,  either 
from  pain  or  fright  or  both,  poor  thing.  We  must 
help  her." 

"Here,  Bess,"  directed  Nan,  "you  hold  her  head 
while  I  see  if  any  bones  are  broken.  And  you  other 
girls  take  turns  in  chafing  her  hands.  If  she  lives 

13 


14 

near  here  we'll  take  her  home  and  send  for  a  doc- 
tor. If  not,  we'll  take  her  up  to  the  Hall." 

The  others  followed  Nan's  directions  and  worked 
with  frantic  energy.  And  while  the  girls  are  trying 
to  revive  the  unconscious  stranger,  it  may  be  well 
for  the  sake  of  those  who  have  not  yet  read  the 
earlier  volumes  of  this  series  to  tell  who  Nan  Sher- 
wood is,  and  what  experiences  and  adventures  she 
and  her  friends  have  had  up  to  the  time  at  which 
the  present  story  opens. 

Mr.  Sherwood  was  a  foreman  in  the  Atwater 
Mills  in  Tillbury,  and  "Papa  Sherwood"  and  "Mom- 
sey"  and  Nan  were  a  devoted  and  happy  family  in 
their  pretty  little  cottage  on  Amity  Street.  Then 
the  mills  shut  down  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 
The  Sherwoods,  with  others  even  less  well  able  to 
face  the  future,  were  staring  poverty  and  the  loss  of 
their  pretty  home  in  the  face,  when  suddenly,  in  the 
case  of  the  Sherwoods,  fortune  took  a  hand  and  sent 
relief  in  the  shape  of  a  legacy  from  a  distant  rela- 
tive of  Mrs.  Sherwood's. 

To  settle  the  business  in  connection  with  this 
legacy,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sherwood  were  called  to 
Scotland.  To  the  grief  of  all  three,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  Nan  should  be  left  behind,  but  it  was  ar- 
ranged that  she  should  stay  with  her  Uncle  Henry, 
her  father's  brother,  in  a  lumber  camp  in  the  Michi- 
gan Peninsula.  What  exciting  adventures  Nan  had 
there  and  what  she  accomplished  for  good,  can  be 


Nearly  a  Tragedy  15 

found  in  the  first  volume  of  this  series,  entitled: 
"Nan  Sherwood  at  Pine  Camp;  or,  The  Old  Lum- 
berman's Secret." 

[Nan's  feest  girl  friend  in  Tillbury  was  Bess  Har- 
ley.  Bess  was  looking  forward  to  going  to  school 
at  Lakeview  Hall,  and,  never  having  known  any 
lack  of  money,  could  not  understand  why  Nan  would 
not  say  that  she,  too,  would  go.  When  the  loss  of 
Mr.  Sherwood's  position  made  even  Bess  see  that  it 
would  be  out  of  the  question  for  Nan  to  go,  she 
was  inconsolable,  for  she  was  devoted  to  her  friend, 
and  rather  dependent  on  her. 

Nan  Sherwood  herself  wanted  to  go  to  Lakeview 
Hall  more  than  she  had  told  either  Bess  or  her 
parents,  and  when  the  legacy  from  Scotland  made 
this  possible  the  two  girls  were  delighted  and  went 
wild  with  joy. 

What  they  did  at  the  Hall,  the  plucky  spirit  Nan 
showed  on  more  than  one  occasion,  and  the  friends 
they  made  are  told  of  in  the  volume  entitled :  "Nan 
Sherwood  at  Lakeview  Hall;  or,  The  Mystery  of 
the  Haunted  Boathouse." 

Among  the  girls  Nan  and  Bess  met  at  Lake- 
view  Hall  was  Grace  Mason  of  Chicago.  In  "Nan 
Sherwood's  Winter  Holidays ;  or,  Rescuing  the  Run- 
aways" is  described  the  visit  that  Nan  and  Bess 
made  to  the  Mason  home  during  the  midwinter  holi- 
days. It  is  a  record  of  parties  and  girlish  fun,  but 
in  the  midst  of  this  Nan  succeeded  in  helping  two 


1 6  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

foolish  girls  who  had  run  far  away  from  home. 

On  the  opening  of  Lakeview  Hall  after  those  win- 
ter holidays  a  new  girl  came  to  the  school.  She 
was  from  the  far  West,  and  she  did  not  at  first 
understand  or  enter  into  the  fun  of  the  other  girls. 
For  a  while  she  was  without  friends  there,  but 
gradually  Nan  Sherwood's  sympathy  and  tact 
worked  a  change  and  Rhoda  Hammond  became  one 
with  the  other  girls. 

She  was  not  only  grateful  to  Nan,  but  she  be- 
came very  fond  of  her.  By  this  time  Mr.  Sher- 
wood was  well  established  in  a  business  of  his  own, 
so  when  Rhoda  asked  Nan  and  Bess  and  Grace 
Mason  and  her  brother  Walter  to  go  with  her  to 
her  home  in  the  West  on  a  ranch,  Nan,  as  well  as 
the  others,  was  able  to  accept.  What  exciting  ad- 
ventures the  young  people  had  at  Rose  Ranch,  how 
stanchly  they  faced  peril  on  one  or  two  occasions, 
and  what  novel  pleasures  came  to  them,  are  all  told 
of  in  "Nan  Sherwood  at  Rose  Ranch;  or,  The  Old 
Mexican's  Treasure." 

And  now  let  us  go  back  to  Nan  and  her  chums 
and  the  poor  woman  who  had  brought  the  bobsled 
race  to  such  an  inglorious  termination. 

The  ministrations  of  the  excited  girls  to  the 
poor  woman  soon  produced  an  effect.  The  woman 
stirred  uneasily,  groaned,  and  at  length  opened  her 
eyes,  to  the  infinite  relief  of  the  girls,  who  had 
feared  they  had  been  participants  in  a  tragedy. 


I? 

Nan's  deft  fingers  had  in  the  meantime  established 
the  fact  that  no  bones  were .  broken,  and  she  now 
spoke  gently  to  the  woman,  whose  eyes  wandered 
from  one  face  to  another  in  a  dazed  fashion. 

"I  hope  you  are  not  badly  hurt,"  Nan  said  kindly. 
"Do  you  feel  much  pain?" 

"What  am  I  doing  here?"  the  woman  asked. 
"What  has  happened?" 

"Our  sled  struck  you  and  knocked  you  down," 
answered  Nan.  "We  did  our  best  to  steer  out  of 
the  way,  but  we  couldn't.  I  hope  you  are  not  much 
hurt." 

A  spasm  of  fear  came  into  the  face,  which  they 
could  see  was  that  of  a  woman  about  sixty  years 
old. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  now,"  she  said  weakly.  "I 
thought  surely  I  was  going  to  be  killed.  It  all  hap- 
pened so  sudden  like." 

She  struggled  into  a  sitting  position,  and  the  girls 
supported  her  head  and  shoulders. 

"Tell  us  where  you  live,"  said  Nan,  "and  we  will 
take  you  home  and  send  for  a  doctor.  Or  perhaps 
we  had  better  take  you  right  up  to  the  school  on 
top  of  the  hill  and  take  care  of  you  there." 

"Oh,  I  wouldn't  want  to  give  you  young  ladies  so 
much  trouble,"  answered  the  woman. 

"Trouble,  indeed!"  protested  Nan.  "It's  you 
that  have  had  all  the  trouble,  and  there's  nothing  we 
can  do  for  you  that  will  make  up  for  it." 


i8 

"Do  tell  us  where  you  live,"  urged  Bess.  "You 
ought  to  be  in  bed  just  as  soon  as  you  can.  You'll 
catch  your  death  out  here  in  the  snow." 

"I  live  down  on  the  Milltown  road,"  the  woman 
replied,  "but  I  think  I  can  get  there  without  bother- 
ing you.  Just  help  me  up  and  you'll  find  that  I'm 
able  to  walk  all  right." 

She  strove  to  rise  to  her  feet  as  she  spoke,  the 
girls  supporting  her  on  each  side,  but  her  feet  gave 
way  under  her  and  she  would  have  fallen  had  they 
not  sustained  her. 

"I'm  afraid  my  ankle  is  broken,"  she  murmured, 
as  they  eased  her4  to  a  sitting  position  on  the  sled 
that  thoughtful  Rhoda  had  run  and  brought  up  to 
where  the  group  were  gathered. 

"No,"  said  Nan,  "it  isn't  broken,  I  think ;  but  it  is 
very  badly  sprained.  Now,  girls,  wrap  her  up  well 
and  then  take  hold  of  the  ropes  and  we'll  get  her 
home  just  as  soon  as  we  possibly  can.  You  live  on 
the  Milltown  road,  you  say?"  she  went  on,  turning 
to  the  sufferer.  "About  how  far  is  your  home  from 
here?" 

"About  a  mile  or  a  little  more,"  was  the  answer. 
"It's  just  beyond  the  blacksmith's  shop  after  you 
cross  the  bridge." 

"I  know  where  it  is,"  interposed  Grace.  "I've 
often  passed  the  place  while  out  riding  with 
Walter." 

"You  can  show  us  the  way  then,"  said  Nan,  set- 


Nearly  a  Tragedy  19 

ting  the  example  to  the  others  by  taking  hold  of  the 
rope.  "Come  along,  girls,  and  we'll  get  there  as 
soon  as  we  can.  Bess,  hadn't  you  better  go  up  the 
hill  and  tell  the  professor  all  about  this,  and  then 
hurry  and  catch  up  with  us?" 

Bess  did  as  her  chum  suggested,  and  the  other 
girls  started  off  at  a  brisk  pace,  drawing  the  sled 
with  its  burden  after  them. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    OLD    LADY 

THE  road  was  rather  a  difficult  one,  and  several 
small  hills  had  to  be  surmounted.  The  girls  took 
turns  in  having  one  of  them  walk  beside  the  sled 
with  her  hand  steadying  their  passenger,  who  at 
times  protested  feebly  against  all  the  trouble  she 
was  making.  She  volunteered  the  information  that 
her  name  was  Sarah  Bragley,  that  she  was  a  widow, 
and  that  she  had  no  kith  or  kin  in  the  world  as  far 
as  she  knew.  These  facts  redoubled  the  pity  of  the 
girls,  and  they  mentally  resolved  that  as  long  as  they 
were  at  Lakeview  Hall  they  would  do  all  they  could 
to  make  life  more  bearable  for  the  frail  and  forlorn 
woman  who  had  been  brought  into  their  lives  in  a 
way  so  unexpected  and  so  nearly  tragic. 

In  a  little  while  Bess  rejoined  them,  panting  a  lit- 
tle from  the  exertions  she  had  made  to  catch  up  to 
them. 

"It's  all  right,"  she  announced.  "I  told  Profes- 
sor Krenner,  and  he  told  us  to  do  all  that  we  could, 
no  matter  how  long  it  took,  and  said  that  he  would 
explain  the  whole  thing  to  Dr.  Prescott.  And  Linda 

20 


The  Old  Lady  21 

Riggs  was  there,  and  what  do  you  think  she  said? 
But  I'll  tell  you  about  that  some  other  time,"  she 
said,  as  she  saw  a  spasm  of  pain  come  over  the  in- 
jured woman's  face.  "Here,  let  me  get  hold  of  that 
rope  and  we'll  get  on  faster." 

She  took  hold  with  a  will,  and  the  bobsled  moved 
along  rapidly  until  a  little  bridge  that  spanned  the 
road  over  a  small  stream  came  into  view.  The 
stream  now  was  a  solid  mass  of  ice. 

"There's  the  bridge!"  ejaculated  Grace.  "We 
can't  be  very  far  from  the  house  now." 

"And  there's  the  blacksmith  shop  and  a  little 
house  right  beyond  it,"  added  Nan.  "Is  that  your 
house?"  she  asked  Mrs.  Bragley,  beside  whom  she 
was  walking. 

"That's  it,  dearie,"  was  the  answer.  "It  ain't 
much  of  a  place,"  she  added  apologetically. 

"It's  a  cunning  little  darling  of  a  place,"  protested 
Rhoda,  not  quite  truthfully,  but  so  warm-heartedly 
that  the  recording  angel  probably  did  not  lay  it  up 
against  her. 

"It's  very  nice,"  added  Nan. 

In  a  few  minutes  more  they  were  before  the  tiny 
house,  which  seemed  to  consist  of  several  rooms  on 
one  floor  and  a  single  room  above.  Everything 
about  it  suggested  straightened  means,  and  yet  the 
girls  noticed  that  the  small  windows  were  clean  and 
hung  with  fresh  dimity  curtains,  and  that  there  were 
little  flower  boxes  on  the  sills  inside. 


22  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

They  drew  the  sled  through  the  gate  and  up  the 
path  to  the  door. 

"Have  you  the  key?"  Nan  asked,  as  she  took  off 
her  gloves. 

"It  isn't  locked,"  Mrs.  Bragley  replied,  with  a 
faint  smile.  "There's  nothing  in  there  that  would 
tempt  anybody  to  steal.  Just  open  the  door  and  go 
right  in." 

Nan  did  as  she  was  told.  She  found  herself  in 
what  evidently  served  as  a  living-room  and  dining- 
room  and  kitchen  combined.  In  a  little  room  open- 
ing off  to  the  right,  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  bed. 
There  was  a  wood  stove  with  the  embers  of  a  fire 
in  it,  and  the  room  was  still  fairly  warm.  Every- 
thing was  as  scrupulously  neat  as  her  first  impres- 
sion from  without  had  led  her  to  expect.  But  the 
scanty  and  worn  furniture  showed  a  desperate  strug- 
gle with  poverty  that  touched  the  girl's  heart. 

Under  Nan's  directions,  the  girls  lifted  Mrs.  Brag- 
ley  from  the  sled  and  gently  deposited  her  in  the 
one  rocking  chair  that  the  apartment  contained,  first, 
however,  placing  a  cushion  in  it  to  make  it  more 
comfortable. 

"Now,  girls,"  said  Nan,  "let's  all  get  busy.  In 
the  first  place,  we  want  to  get  this  fire  going. 
Where  do  you  keep  your  wood  ?"  she  asked,  turning 
to  the  invalid. 

"There's  plenty  of  it  in  the  little  woodshed  at  the 
back,"  was  the  answer.  "The  neighbors  always  cut 


The  Old  Lady  23 

enough  for  me  to  last  me  through  the  winter.  But 
it's  a  shame  that  you  should  have  to  go  for  it,"  she 
called  after  Nan,  who  had  already  started  for  the 
woodshed. 

Her  protests  were  unheeded,  and  in  a  moment 
Nan  was  back,  accompanied  by  Bess,  who  had  gone 
with  her,  their  arms  full  of  wood  which  they  laid 
beside  the  stove. 

In  a  few  minutes  a  cheerful  fire  was  roaring  in 
the  stove.  Then,  following  the  directions  of  Mrs. 
Bragley,  they  found  some  tea  and  brewed  it,  and 
set  out  a  little  lunch  which  they  pressed  the  woman 
to  eat.  The  food  and  tea  refreshed  and  revived  her, 
and,  as  her  shyness  wore  off,  she  talked  with  them 
freely. 

Nan  found  some  arnica  with  which  she  bathed  the 
injured  ankle,  and  then  they  helped  their  patient  to 
undress  and  get  into  bed.  And  having  done  this, 
and  seen  that  she  was  as  comfortable  as  it  was  pos- 
sible to  make  her,  the  girls  withdrew  into  a  corner 
to  hold,  as  Nan  expressed  it,  a  "committee  meeting 
to  discuss  ways  and  means." 

"Now,  girls,  just  what  are  we  going  to  do?"  de- 
manded Nan,  as  her  friends  gathered  round  her  with 
anxious  looks  on  their  faces. 

"Take  care  of  this  poor  woman  until  she  is  able 
to  be  on  her  feet  again,"  responded  Bess  promptly. 
"We  can't  do  less." 

"Of  course,  that  goes  without  saying,"  agreed 


24  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Nan.  "We're  the  cause  of  her  present  trouble,  and 
it's  up  to  us  to  get  her  out  of  it.  The  only  question 
is  as  to  the  best  way  to  do  it." 

"Go  ahead  and  tell  us,  Nan,"  urged  Grace. 
"You've  got  the  best  head  of  any  of  us  when  it 
comes  to  an  emergency  like  this." 

"The  first  thing,"  suggested  Nan,  "is  to  get  a  doc- 
tor." 

"I'm  so  glad  it  isn't  an  undertaker  we  have  to 
call  for,"  put  in  Grace,  with  a  shudder. 

"And  the  next,"  continued  Nan,  "is  to  find  a 
nurse.  The  poor  thing  is  utterly  helpless  just  now 
with  that  hurt  ankle.  She  can't  even  keep  up  the 
fire,  and  the  weather's  so  cold  she'd  freeze  to  death 
if  the  fire  went  out." 

"If  we  only  had  a  telephone,"  murmured  Rhoda, 
as  her  eye  wandered  over  the  place,  though  she  knew 
beforehand  that  such  an  instrument  would  not  be 
found  in  that  poor  cottage. 

"Well,  we  haven't,"  replied  Nan.  "So  I'll  tell 
you  what  we'll  do.  Bess  and  I  will  stay  here  and 
try  to  make  our  patient  as  comfortable  as  we  can. 
The  rest  of  you  girls  had  better  go  right  up  to  the 
Hall  and  tell  Dr.  Prescott  all  about  it.  She'll  have 
a  doctor  here  in  less  than  no  time,  and  she  or  Mrs. 
Cupp  will  know  of  some  nurse  they  can  get  in  the 
town.  We'll  stay  here  anyway  until  they  come.  But 
the  afternoon's  going  fast,  and  you  want  to  hurry 
as  much  as  you  can.  It  will  probably  be  dark  any- 


The  Old  Lady  25 

h'ow  when  the  doctor  and  the  nurse  get  here,  and, 
as  we  don't  know  the  road  very  well,  we  don't  want 
to  be  too  late  in  getting  back  to  the  Hall/' 

"You  needn't  worry  about  that,"  said  Grace,  as 
she  put  on  her  wraps.  "I'll  'phone  to  Walter  as 
soon  as  I  get  to  the  Hall  and  he'll  come  over  and 
take  you  home." 

"In  that  case  I'd  better  go  along  with  you  now," 
put  in  Bess,  with  a  mischievous  twinkle  in  her  eye. 
"I'm  afraid  it  will  be  a  case  where  two  is  company 
and  three's  a  crowd." 

"Don't  talk  such  nonsense,"  said  Nan,  though  a 
slight  flush  had  risen  to  her  cheeks  at  her  chum's 
raillery.  "But,  girls,  before  you  go  there's  one  other 
thing;  and  that  is,  the  matter  of  money.  I  don't 
suppose,"  she  went  on,  lowering  her  voice  lest  the 
invalid  should  hear,  "that  the  poor  woman  has  any- 
thing of  any  account.  How  much  money  have  you 
girls  with  you?" 

What  the  warm-hearted  girls  had  with  them  at 
the  moment  was  very  little,  but  what  it  was  they 
all  handed  over,  and  the  total  amounted  to  several 
dollars. 

"Of  course  we'll  all  club  together  and  see  that 
she  has  all  she  needs  to  get  through  this  trouble," 
declared  Laura,  and  there  was  a  unanimous  chorus 
of  assent. 

"And  now,  shoo !"  commanded  Nan,  as  she  opened 
the  door  to  hasten  their  exit.  "And  see  how  quickly 


26  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

you  can  get  the  nurse  and  the  doctor  here.  Don't 
bother  about  the  sled.  We'll  bring  that  along  when 
we  come,  or  send  over  after  it  to-morrow." 

The  three  girls  promised  to  hurry,  and  made  off. 
Nan  and  Bess  watched  them  until  they  had  passed . 
out  of  sight  beyond  the  bridge,  and  then  turned  to 
look  after  their  patient. 


CHAPTER  IV 

SOLVING   A    PROBLEM 

THE  girls  tiptoed  into  the  little  room  at  the  right 
and  saw  that  Mrs.  Bragley  was  not  asleep.  As  they 
approached  the  bed  she  greeted  them  with  a  faint 
smile. 

"It's  too  bad  that  you  should  have  all  this 
trouble,"  she  said.  "Here  I've  gone  and  spoiled  all 
your  afternoon's  fun  just  because  I  was  too  slow 
and  stupid  to  get  out  of  your  way." 

"It  wasn't  your  fault  at  all,"  declared  Bess 
warmly.  "I  know  I'd  have  been  scared  stiff  if  I'd 
seen  that  sled  bearing  down  upon  me.  The  thing 
we're  grateful  for  is  that  you  weren't  killed." 

"How  are  you  feeling  now?"  asked  Nan  gently, 
as  she  adjusted  the  bedclothes. 

"Rather  poorly,"  was  the  answer.  "My  ankle's 
hurting  me  a  good  deal.  And  then  I  have  a  sort  of 
all-gone  feeling.  But  I  suppose  that's  on  account 
of  the  shock.  But  I'll  be  all  right  by  to-morrow," 
the  woman  hurried  to  say  bravely. 

"We've  sent  for  a  doctor  and  a  nurse,"  Nan  ex- 
plained. "They'll  be  here  in  a  little  while." 

27 


28  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

A  worried  look  came  into  the  woman's  pale  and 
drawn  face. 

"A  doctor?  A  nurse?"  she  repeated.  "That's 
good  of  you,  my  dears,  but  I  can  get  along  all  right 
without  them.  And  besides,  besides 

She  hesitated,  and  Nan,  who  guessed  what  she 
was  thinking  of,  hastened  to  reassure  her. 

"Don't  worry  about  anything,"  she  urged. 
"There  won't  be  any  expense.  It's  our  fault  that 
you  are  hurt,  and  the  very  least  we  can  do  is  to  see 
that  it  doesn't  cost  you  anything  to  get  well.  You 
just  leave  it  to  us,  please." 

Tears  came  into  the  poor  woman's  eyes. 

"How  good  you  are !"  she  said  brokenly.  "There 
was  a  time  when  I  had  money  enough  to  get  along 
comfortably,  but  that  was  before  my  husband  died. 
He  thought  that  he  was  leaving  me  enough  to  take 
care  of  me  for  the  rest  of  my  life.  But  somehow  or 
other  I  guess  I've  been  cheated  out  of  it  or  lost  it 
somehow.  It's  all  mixed  up  in  my  mind,  and  I 
don't  exactly  know  the  rights  of  it.  I  never  did 
have  any  head  for  business,  anyhow." 

"There,  there,"  said  Nan  soothingly,  as  she 
feared  that  her  patient  was  getting  excited.  "You 
can  tell  us  all  about  it  some  other  time.  Let  me 
fix  your  pillows  now  and  you  try  to  get  some  sleep 
before  the  doctor  comes." 

She  brought  a  cooling  drink,  and  then  she  and 
Bess  withdrew  into  the  other  room  and  conversed 


Solving  a   Problem  29 

in  low  tones  until,  just  before  dark,  the  doctor  made 
his  appearance. 

He  was  a  big,  cheery  man,  who  radiated  confi- 
dence as  he  bustled  into  the  room  after  tying  his 
horse  to  the  fence  outside. 

"Oh,  Dr.  Willis,  I'm  so  glad  you've  come!"  ex- 
claimed Nan,  as  the  doctor  came  in  and  drew  off 
his  gloves. 

"Just  a  bit  of  luck  that  I  was  able  to  get  here  so 
soon,"  the  doctor  responded.  "I  was  just  going 
out  on  another  call  when  a  girl  rang  me  up  from 
the  school  and  told  me  of  the  accident.  She  was  so 
excited  that  she  stuttered,  but  I  managed  to  make 
out  what  she  was  driving  at  and  hurried  over  at 
once.  Where  is  the  patient?" 

They  took  him  into  the  room,  and  he  made  a 
quick  but  thorough  examination. 

"No  bones  broken,"  he  announced,  and  the  girls 
drew  a  sigh  of  relief.  "But  there's  a  bad  sprain 
and  she  won't  be  able  to  get  around  for  a  couple 
of  weeks." 

He  bandaged  the  injured  ankle  and  prepared 
some  medicine,  which  he  left  with  careful  directions 
to  the  girls. 

"I'll  drop  in  again  to-morrow,"  he  said.  "Sorry 
that  I  can't  take  you  girls  back  and  drop  you  at 
the  Hall,  but  she  oughtn't  to  be  left  alone.  I  can. 
take  one  of  you,  though,"  and  he  looked  inquiringly 
from  one  to  the  other. 


30  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"You  had  better  go,  Bess,"  said  Nan  promptly. 

"What!  and  leave  you  alone?"  cried  Bess.  "In- 
deed not." 

"But  we  can't  both  go." 

"I  am  not  going  to  leave  you,  Nan.  We'll  both 
stay." 

"Well,  it  won't  be  for  so  very  long  anyway,"  re- 
marked Nan.  She  turned  to  the  physician.  "It  is 
very  good  of  you  to  ask  us." 

"It  sure  is,"  added  Bess,  quickly.  And  then  she 
added,  with  a  cloud  on  her  face,  "You  are  sure 
Mrs.  Bragley  is  going  to  get  over  it  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  she'll  get  over  it.  But  it  will  take  time," 
answered  the  doctor;  and  a  few  minutes  later  the 
medical  man  took  his  departure. 

"He  certainly  is  a  nice  man,"  said  Nan,  as  she 
and  her  chum  watched  him  go. 

"A  man  one  is  bound  to  have  confidence  in," 
added  Bess. 

He  had  not  been  gone  five  minutes  when  there 
was  a  sound  of  sleighbells,  and  a  cutter,  drawn  by 
a  spirited  horse,  dashed  up  to  the  gate.  The  girls 
peered  through  the  windows,  but  in  the  dark,  which 
had  now  fully  settled  down,  could  not  identify  the 
newcomer.  A  moment  later  there  as  a  knock  at  the 
door,  and,  on  opening  it,  Walter  Mason  came  in 
with  a  rush,  accompanied  more  sedately  by  an  el- 
derly woman  with  a  kindly,  capable  face. 

"Why,  Walter!"  exclaimed  Nan,  and  a  close  oft- 


Solving  a  Problem  31 

server  might  have  noted  her  heightened  color. 
"How  splendid  it  was  of  you  to  get  here  so 
quickly." 

Bess  had  it  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue  to  say  that 
she  could  guess  why  he  had  hurried,  but  she  wisely 
forebore. 

Walter  Mason  was  a  frank,  fine-looking  young 
man,  with  whom  the  girls  had  become  acquainted 
through  his  sister  Grace.  Nan  and  he  had  been 
thrown  much  together,  especially  during  the  visit 
that  Nan  had  made  to  Grace  at  the  Mason  home  in 
Chicago,  and  a  mutual  liking  had  developed  that 
had  grown  stronger  with  time.  The  girls  had  often 
teased  Nan  about  Walter,  but  she  had  parried  their 
thrusts  good-naturedly,  and  stoutly  maintained  that 
Walter  was  simply  a  nice  boy  and  good  company. 
But  she  was  undeniably  glad  to  see  him,  though  she 
tried  to  explain  to  herself  that  it  was  the  prospect 
of  soon  getting  back  to  the  Hall  that  pleased  her. 

After  the  first  greeting,  Walter  introduced  his 
companion  as  a  Mrs.  Ellis,  who  had  agreed  to  come 
along  to  nurse  the  patient  until  she  had  fully  re- 
covered. 

Mrs.  Ellis,  in  a  quiet,  capable  way,  took  charge 
at  once,  and  the  girls  felt  the  load  of  responsibility 
that  they  had  carried  all  the  afternoon  lighten 
promptly. 

"Oh,  I'd  nearly  forgotten!"  Walter  exclaimed 
suddenly,  and  ran  out  to  the  sleigh,  whence  he  re- 


32  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

turned  in  a  moment  loaded  down  with  food  and 
jellies  and  supplies  of  various  kinds. 

"We  stopped  on  our  way  through  the  village,"  he 
explained,  as  he  placed  the  packages  on  the  table, 
"and  Mrs.  Ellis  picked  out  the  things  that  we  ought 
to  bring  along.  Here  they  are.  And  now  if  you 
girls  will  get  your  things  on,  I'll  hustle  you  over  to 
the  Hall.  You  must  be  awfully  hungry." 

They  had  not  thought  of  that,  but  now  that  he 
spoke  of  it  they  realized  that  he  was  right.  They 
went  in  and  spoke  cheerily  to  Mrs.  Bragley,  prom- 
ising to  be  over  the  next  day  to  see  how  she  was 
getting  along,  and  then,  followed  by  her  tears  and 
blessings,  they  put  on  their  wraps  and  furs  and  with 
a  cordial  farewell  to  the  nurse  they  hurried  off,  not, 
however,  until  Walter  had  brought  in  and  stacked 
up  enough  firewood  to  last  for  several  days. 

The  cold,  crisp  air  was  like  a  tonic,  and  their 
spirits  rose  as  the  horse  drew  the  cutter  after  him 
over  the  snowy  road  at  a  rate  of  speed  that  prom- 
ised to  bring  them  to  the  Hall  all  too  soon. 

"That  was  a  close  call  you  girls  had  this  after- 
noon," Walter  remarked,  as  they  left  the  little  house 
behind  them. 

"It  surely  was,"  agreed  Bess,  with  a  little  shiver 
that  was  not  due  to  the  cold.  "It  was  lucky  for  us 
that  Nan  kept  her  head.  The  rest  of  us  were 
screaming,  but  Nan  didn't  make  a  sound.  If  she'd 
steered  an  inch  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  from  what 


Solving  a  Problem  33 

she  did,  we'd  have  gone  into  a  tree,  and  that  would 
have  been  the  end  of  us." 

"She's  a  thoroughbred,"  declared  Walter  briefly. 
"That's  just  the  way  she  acted  the  day  your  boat 
upset.  Nan  certainly  has  nerve." 

"There  are  the  lights  of  the  Hall,"  interrupted 
Nan,  glad  of  an  excuse  to  divert  attention  from  her- 
self. "How  beautiful  they  look  on  a  night  like 
this." 

"They'd  look  a  good  deal  more  beautiful  to  me  if 
they  were  further  off,"  grumbled  Walter,  as  he  re- 
luctantly turned  into  the  drive  that  led  to  Lakeview 
Hall. 


CHAPTER  V 

CALLED    TO   ACCOUNT 

THE  cutter  drew  up  with  a  flourish  and  a  jingle 
of  bells  at  the  main  door  of  Lakeview  Hall,  and 
Walter  Mason  helped  the  girls  out. 

"So  good  of  you  to  bring  us  over,"  said  Nan,  as 
Walter's  hand  held  hers  for  perhaps  a  second  more 
than  was  absolutely  necessary. 

"Tickled  to  death  to  have  the  chance,"  replied  the 
youth.  "And  say,  Nan,  count  me  in  on  that  sub- 
scription for  Mrs.  Bragley." 

"Thanks  just  as  much,"  was  Nan's  response,  as 
she  and  Bess  ran  up  the  steps,  "but  I  imagine  you've 
done  more  than  your  share  already.  Who  paid  for 
all  those  good  things  you  brought  over  in  your 
sleigh?  Answer  me  that." 

"Give  you  three  guesses,"  laughed  Walter.  "And 
now,  good  night,  girls.  Tell  me  when  you're  going 
over  again  and  I'll  be  here  with  the  cutter." 

Another  moment  and  he  was  off  with  a  farewell 
wave  of  the  hand,  and  Nan  and  Bess  entered  the 
Hall,  where  they  speedily  found  themselves  the  cen- 

34 


Called  to  Account  35 

ter  of  a  chattering  bevy  of  girls,  all  trying  to  talk 
at  once 

"Tell  us  all  about  it,  Nan,"  pleaded  Rhoda  Ham- 
mond. "Did  the  doctor  get  there?" 

"Was  Mrs.  Bragley  badly  hurt  ?"  asked  Laura. 

"Not  seriously,"  answered  Nan.  "The  doctor  and 
the  nurse  both  came,  and  everything  is  going  on  all 
right.  She'll  be  able  to  walk  again  in  a  couple  of 
weeks,  they  think." 

"Don't  tell  them  another  word,  Nan  Sherwood, 
until  we  have  had  something  to  eat,"  laughed  Bess. 
"I'm  just  dying  from  hunger,  and  I  suppose  we're 
late  now  for  supper." 

Linda  Riggs,  who  had  been  standing  apart  with  a 
sneer  on  her  lips,  turned  to  Cora  Courtney  and  said 
in  a  voice  that  was  not  so  low  but  all  could  hear: 

"So  that's  why  she  stayed  to  nurse  the  old  woman ; 
so  she  could  get  a  ride  home  with  Walter  Mason. 
She's  foxy,  all  right." 

"You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,  Linda 
Riggs !"  Bess1  Harley  cried  hotly.  But  Nan  laid  her 
hand  soothingly  on  her  arm. 

"Never  mind  her,  Bess,"  she  counseled  with  a 
level  glance  at  Linda.  "What  else  can  you  expect? 
Let's  go  in  to  supper." 

"Linda  is  peeved  because  the  Gay  Girl  was  beaten 
this  afternoon,"  laughed  Laura  Polk.  "You  know 
she  thought  she  had  a  mortgage  on  the  race." 

"Was  she  beaten?"  asked  Bess,  with  eager  inter- 


36  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

est.  "I  declare,  my  mind's  been  so  full  of  the  acci- 
dent that  I'd  almost  forgotten  that  we  had  a  race." 

"Yes,"  replied  Laura  gleefully.  "She  was  beaten 
by  more  than  a  hundred  feet." 

"And  she  had  three  chances  where  we  had  only 
one,"  put  in  Rhoda.  "We  might  have  beaten  our 
own  mark  if  we  had  had  our  full  number  of  trips." 

"There's  not  much  of  the  sport  about  Linda," 
commented  Grace.  "Any  one  who  beats  her  makes 
her  an  enemy.  She  takes  it  as  a  personal  insult  if 
any  one  dares  to  get  ahead  of  her." 

"She  can't  be  any  more  of  an  enemy  to  us  than 
she  always  has  been,"  concluded  Bess.  "But  come 
along,  Nan,  and  let's  eat.  My  appetite's  keener  than 
ever,  now  that  I  know  we  won."  *. 

"Was  there  ever  anything  the  matter  with'  your 
appetite,  Bess  ?"  questioned  Nan  with  a  smile. 

"Sometimes — not  often.  But,  oh,  Nan!  neither 
of  us  would  have  had  much  appetite  if  we  had  seri- 
ously injured  that  poor  woman." 

"You  are  right  there.  Every  time  I  think  of  the 
narrow  escape  we  had  I  have  to  shiver." 

"Yes,  and  supposing  the  sled  had  gone  into  a 
tree,  or  one  of  those  sharp  rocks !  Oh,  it  would  have 
been  dreadful!" 

"We  can  count  ourselves  very  lucky." 

"And  to  think  we  won  the  race  after  all !  That's 
the  best  news  I've  heard  in  a  long  time." 

"Oh,  no,  Bess.    The  best  news  is  our  escape,  and 


Called  to  Account  37 

Mrs.  Bragley's,  from  serious  injury.  The  race 
doesn't  count  alongside  of  that." 

"Well,  maybe  you  are  right.  Nevertheless,  I  am 
awfully  glad  we  won." 

The  rest  of  the  girls  had  already  had  their  sup- 
per, but  there  was  plenty  left,  and  Nan  and  Bess  did 
full  justice  to  it.  They  had  scarcely  finished  when 
a  message  came  to  Nan  that  Dr.  Prescott,  the  head 
of  the  school,  wished  to  see  her. 

"I  always  feel  nervous  when  I  hear  that  Doctor 
Beulah  wants  to  see  me,"  remarked  Laura,  the  mad- 
cap of  the  school.  "But  perhaps  Nan  has  a  better 
conscience  than  I  usually  have.  Run  along  now, 
Nan,  and  take  your  medicine,  and  then  come  back 
and  tell  us  all  about  it." 

Nan  went  at  once  to  the  principal's  room,  and 
was  graciously  received  by  the  serene,  handsome 
woman  who  directed  the  activities  of  Lakeview  Hall. 

Dr.  Beulah  Prescott  was  a  woman  of  culture  and 
marked  executive  ability.  For  many  years  she  had 
been  the  head  of  the  school,  and  had  won  for  it  an 
enviable  position  among  institutions  of  its  kind.  She 
had  a  large  and  valuable  clientele,  which  was  con- 
stantly expanding. 

She  was  an  extremely  good-looking  woman,  and 
exquisitely  groomed  and  dressed,  although  with  an 
utter  absence  of  ostentation.  She  knew  the  value 
of  appearance,  especially  before  the  critical  eyes  of 
her  schoolgirls,  and  never  allowed  herself  to  be  seen 


453609 


38  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

at  a  disadvantage.  Her  rule  was  mild,  but  just  and 
firm,  and  all  the  girls  knew  that  she  was  not  to  be 
trifled  with.  Behind  her  back  they  often  referred 
to  her  as  Doctor  Beulah,  but  none  permitted  herself 
any  familiarity  in  her  presence.  Her  poise  was  per- 
fect. No  one  had  ever  seen  her  angry  or  flustered. 
When  she  did  not  inspire  ardent  affection,  she  al- 
ways commanded  the  genuine  respect  of  her  pupils. 

She  greeted  Nan  pleasantly  as  the  latter  entered, 
and  asked  her  to  be  seated. 

"I  hear  you  came  near  having  a  serious  accident 
this  afternoon,  Nan,"  she  said,  "and  I  have  sent  for 
you  to  have  you  tell  me  all  about  it." 

Nan  told  in  detail  the  events  of  the  afternoon, 
and  the  doctor  listened  with  keen  interest,  interrupt- 
ing once  in  a  while  to  make  some  incident  perfectly 
clear. 

"It  was  a  very  narrow  escape,"  she  commented, 
when  Nan  had  finished.  "I  am  thankful  beyond 
words  that  none  of  the  girls  was  hurt  or  killed,  as 
they  so  easily  might  have  been.  And  I  want  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  way  you  played  your  part. 
I  notice  you  left  that  out  of  your  story,  but  others 
have  already  told  me  how  cool  and  clear-headed  you 
were  through  it  all.  I'm  glad  that  you  happened  to 
be  steering." 

Nan  flushed  at  the  words  of  praise,  and  murmured 
rather  uncomfortably  that  she  had  done  only  what 
any  other  of  the  girls  would  have  done  in  her  place. 


Called  to  Account  39 

"I  differ  with  you  there,"  replied  Dr.  Prescott, 
with  a  smile.  "But  we  won't  discuss  that.  What 
must  be  done  is  to  make  the  coasting  safer  in  the 
future.  After  this,  I  will  have  some  one  stationed 
at  that  crossing  to  warn  passers-by.  As  for  that 
poor  woman,  I  will  see  that  all  the  expenses  of  her 
illness  are  paid  and  that  she  is  compensated  besides 
for  the  fright  and  pain  she  has  undergone." 

"Pardon  me,  Dr.  Prescott,"  said  Nan  with  some 
diffidence,  "but  the  girls  feel  that  they  ought  to  do 
most  of  the  helping.  They  have  already  contributed 
a  little,  and  they  are  planning  to  do  more." 

"A  very  commendable  feeling,"  agreed  the  head 
of  the  school  graciously.  "But  at  least  you  will  let 
me  help.  I  know  Mrs.  Bragley.  She  is  a  very- 
worthy  woman." 

"She  seems  to  be,"  remarked  Nan.  "Her  little 
house  is  poor,  but  everything  about  it  is  neat  and 
clean.  I  gathered  from  some  things  she  said  that 
she  used  to  be  in  fairly  comfortable  circumstances." 

"That  is  true,"  was  the  response.  "Her  husband 
was  a  hard-working  man  and  had  saved  up  some 
money.  But  he  was  inclined  to  invest  his  savings 
in  rather  risky  enterprises,  and  I  imagine  he  was 
swindled  out  of  most  of  it.  It  seems  to  me  that  I 
have  heard  something  of  that  kind,  though  I  don't 
recall  it  clearly." 

"I  would  like  to  go  over  to  the  cottage  as  often 
as  I  can  in  the  next  few  days  to  see  what  I  can  do 


4O  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

to  help,  if  you  have  no  objections,"  remarked  Nan. 

"None  whatever,"  rejoined  Dr.  Prescott.  "In 
fact,  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  have  you  do  so,  pro- 
vided, of  course,  that  you  don't  let  it  interfere  with 
your  school  work.  You  can  go  now,  Nan.  You 
must  be  tired  after  the  strain  and  excitement  of  this 
afternoon,  and  I  would  suggest  that  you  go  to  bed 
early." 

Nan  bade  the  principal  good-night  and  hurried  up 
to  her  room,  where  she  found  a  group  of  her  special 
friends  all  on  the  qui  vive  to  learn  of  her  interview. 


A   GLORIOUS    PROSPECT 
i 

"HAIL,  the  conquering  heroine  comes!"  cried 
Rhoda  Hammond,  as  Nan  entered  the  room. 

"I  see  she  didn't  eat  you  up,"  remarked  Bess  with 
a  smile. 

"I  suppose  you  are  disappointed,"  laughed  Nan, 
as  she  threw  herself  into  a  chair.  "It  would  have 
been  delightfully  exciting  if  she  had,  wouldn't  it? 
But  talking  of  eating,  let  me  have  some  of  those 
chocolates,  you  stingy  thing." 

The  last  remark  was  addressed  to  Laura,  who  lan- 
guidly took  up  the  box  of  confections  and  handed 
it  over  to  Nan. 

"Where's  Grace  ?"  asked  Nan,  as  she  helped  her- 
self and  cast  her  eyes  over  the  group. 

The  question  was  answered  by  Grace  herself, 
who  at  that  moment  burst  into  the  room,  waving  a 
letter  excitedly  in  her  hand. 

"Oh,  girls,  what  do  you  think?"  she  exclaimed 
breathlessly. 

"We  never  think,"  drawled  Laura.  "At  least,  my 
teachers  tell  me  that  I  never  do." 


42  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Has  some  distant  relative  died  and  left  you  a 
fortune  ?"  hazarded  Bess. 

"Better  than  that,"  cried  Grace  jubilantly. 

"Can  anything  be  better  than  that?"  queried 
Laura. 

"Tell  us,  Grace,"  adjured  Nan.  "Don't  keep  us 
on  the  anxious  seat." 

"I'm  going  to  Palm  Beach !"  exclaimed  Grace  joy- 
ously. "Do  you  hear,  girls?  I'm  going  to  Palm 
Beach  for  the  winter  holidays !" 

The  girls  sprang  up  at  the  news  and  crowded 
around  Grace. 

"Palm  Beach!"  gasped  Rhoda  almost  breath- 
lessly. 

"Why,  Gracie  Mason!"  exclaimed  Nan,  "you must 
be  talking  in  your  sleep." 

"You  don't  really  and  truly  mean  Palm  Beach, 
Florida?"  cried  Laura,  nearly  choking  on  the  big 
chocolate  that  slipped  down  her  throat  at  the  as- 
tounding news. 

"I  really  mean  Palm  Beach,  Florida,"  reiterated 
Grace,  thoroughly  enjoying  the  sensation  she  had 
created. 

"Oh,  you  lucky,  lucky  girl!"  breathed  Bess,  who 
until  now  had  seemed  too  stunned  by  the  news  to 
utter  a  word. 

"Lucky.  Well,  I  should  say,"  chimed  in  Laura. 
"Some  people  are  born  lucky,  and  Grace  Mason  is 
the  luckiest  of  them  all." 


A  Glorious  Prospect  43 

"How  I  wish  I  could  go  with  you!"  mourned 
Rhoda  enviously. 

"You  can  just  guess  we  all  wish  that,"  acquiesced 
Nan.  "You  surely  were  born  with  a  golden  spoon 
in  your  mouth,  Grace." 

"It  has  been  the  dream  of  my  life  to  go  to  Palm 
Beach,"  put  in  Rhoda. 

"Now,  Grace,  just  sit  down  here  and  tell  us  all 
about  it,"  commanded  Nan.  "Every  syllable.  Do 
you  hear?" 

She  piloted  Grace  to  the  biggest  chair  in  the  room 
and  seated  herself  on  one  arm  of  it,  while  the  others 
clustered  around  as  closely  as  possible. 

"Well,"  began  Grace,  "mother  and  dad  have  been 
thinking  about  it  for  some  time,  but  they  wouldn't 
tell  us  about  it  until  the  last  minute  because  they 
wanted  to  surprise  us.  Just  as  soon  as  I  got  the 
news,  I  flew  right  over  here  to  tell  you  girls  about 
it." 

"It's  too  splendid!"  exclaimed  Laura.  "Where 
are  you  going  to  stay  while  you  are  there?  Or 
perhaps  it's  too  early  to  have  settled  that  yet." 

"At  the  Royal  Poinciana,"  replied  Grace  happily. 
"Oh,  my!" 

"The  Royal  Poinciana !"  exclaimed  all  the  girls  in 
one  breath. 

"Why,  Grace,"  marveled  Rhoda.  "That's  the 
very  swellest  hotel  even  in  Palm  Beach." 

"Well,  what  of  that?"  smiled  Grace.    "Can't  we 


44  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  BeacK 

go  to  the  swellest  hotel  if  we  want  to? — and  if  dad's 
cash  holds  out?" 

"No  reason  in  the  world,  if  you're  lucky  enough 
to  be  able  to,"  was  Rhoda's  envious  reply.  "It  costs 
a  small  fortune  to  live  there  even  for  a  short  time, 
as  I  suppose  you  know." 

"I  suppose,"  chaffed  Laura,  "that  you'll  be  so 
stuck  up  when  you  get  back  that  you  won't  speak  to 
your  old  friends." 

"No  danger  of  that,"  laughed  Grace,  as  she  looked 
lovingly  about  at  the  eager  faces  of  her  friends. 
"How  long  are  you  going  to  stay?"  queried  Nan. 
"I  don't  know  yet,"  answered  Grace  slowly.    "The 
holidays  last  for  only  two  weeks,  you  know,  aricl 
mother  and  dad  are  so  anxious  that  I  shouldn't  lose 
anything  of  my  school  course  that  they'll  probably 
send  me  back  at  the  end  of  the  two  weeks,  though 
they  may  stay  a  little  longer.    I  only  wish  the  holi- 
days were  four  weeks  long  instead  of  two." 

"How  are  you  ever  coming  back  after  two  weeks 
of  that  sort  of  life?"  asked  Laura.  "If  I  were  only 
lucky  enough  once  to  get  there  I'd  never  want  to 
come  back." 

"Just  think  of  what  fun  you  can  have  there,"  re- 
marked Bess  Harley.  "I  suppose  you'll  play  tennis. 
What  joy  to  be  able  to  play  tennis  and  get  your 
nose  sunburned  in  the  middle  of  winter.  Think  of 
you  playing  tennis  in  Palm  Beach  sunshine  while 
we  are  shivering  around  fires." 


A  Glorious  Prospect  45 

"And  golf?"  suggested  Nan. 

"Not  that,"  laughed  Grace.  "I  don't  know  a 
mashie  from  a  cleek." 

"Of  course  there'll  be  boating,"  suggested  Bess. 

"And  bathing,"  added  Laura  with  emphasis. 
"Oh,  Grace,  I'm  just  dying  of  envy!  Think  of 
bathing  in  January  with  the  water  as  warm  as  it  is 
here  in  August!" 

"Take  care  you  don't  get  drowned,  Grade," 
warned  Nan,  in  mock  seriousness.  "And  look  out 
for  sharks.  I  hear  that  they're  seen  occasionally  at 
Palm  Beach." 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Nan!"  cried  Laura  reprov- 
ingly, "don't  even  suggest  anything  unpleasant  in 
connection  with  that  celestial  spot.  There's  noth- 
ing to  be  found  there  but  pure,  unalloyed  bliss." 

"Only  think  of  the  dances  at  the  hotel !"  said  Bess, 
with  shining  eyes. 

"And  the  fellows,"  put  in  Laura  mischievously. 
"Oh,  Grace,  Grace,  what  opportunities  for  sitting 
out  dances  on  those  wonderful  balconies !" 

"And  the  long  strolls  in  the  moonlight,"  added 
Nan,  giving  Grace  a  nudge  with  her  elbow. 

"Or  sitting  on  the  beach  with  some  eligible  young 
millionaire,  listening  to  the  waves  beating  on  the 
sand,"  teased  Rhoda. 

"Oh,  it's  all  too  wonderful!"  exclaimed  Laura, 
suddenly  starting  up  and  pulling  Grace  out  of  the 
chair. 


46  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Forgetting  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  she  started 
in  a  mad  whirl  about  the  room. 

"Hush!"  cautioned  Nan,  as  a  firm  footfall  was 
heard  in  the  corridor. 

In  a  twinkling  two  motionless  forms  lay  in  Nan's 
bed.  Rhoda  had  switched  off  the  light,  and  the 
high  backs  of  chairs  and  sofa  hid  crouching  figures, 
while  the  almost  too  regular  breathing  of  the  sup- 
posed sleepers  was  the  only  sound  to  be  heard  when 
the  door  opened  and  the  severe  and  angular  form 
of  Mrs.  Cupp  stood  outlined  in  the  dim  light  from 
the  corridor. 


CHAPTER  VII 

IN   THE   DORMITORY 

AFTER  a  survey  of  several  minutes  of  the  dark 
and  seemingly  innocent  room,  the  guardian  of  school 
discipline  seemed  satisfied,  closed  the  door,  and  her 
footsteps  died  away  at  the  end  of  the  hall. 

If  she  could  have  heard  the  bursts  of  smothered 
laughter  as  the  lights  were  turned  on  and  Laura 
and  Bess,  almost  exhausted  by  their  efforts  to  keep 
up  that  steady  breathing,  tumbled  from  the  bed  and 
the  others  rose  from  their  hiding  places  and  shook 
and  stretched  themselves  to  get  the  cramps  out  of 
their  limbs! 

"That  was  a  close  call,"  gurgled  Nan,  breathless 
with  suppressed  laughter,  while  Grace  asked  chok- 
ingly : 

"How  did  you  ever  do  that  sleeping  act  so  per- 
fectly and  keep  it  up  so  long?" 

"Just  genius,"  answered  Laura  complacently.  "I 
got  so  in  the  spirit  of  it  that  I  came  near  snoring." 

"Is  that  so?"  scoffed  Rhoda.  "Strange  that  we 
never  noticed  it  before." 

"Live  and  learn,"   replied  Laura,  nonchalantly. 

47 


48  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"The  explanation  is  simple.  Just  lack  of  percep- 
tion. 'Ye  have  eyes  and  ye  see  not/ ' 

"For  pity's  sake,  keep  still,  you  two,"  said  Bess. 
"We  have  too  many  things  to  talk  about  to  listen  to 
repartee,  even  to  such  brilliant  specimens." 

"Snubbed !"  groaned  Laura,  as  she  lifted  the  last 
bonbon  from  the  box. 

"Here,  greedy,"  said  Rhoda.  "I  saw  that  candy 
first." 

"Well,  I  ate  it  first,"  grinned  Laura  tantaliz- 
ingly. 

"Will  you  girls  keep  still?"  cried  Bess  despair- 
ingly. "I  want  to  find  out  what  Grace  is  going  to 
wear." 

"Yes,  sweetheart,"  said  Rhoda  meekly,  as  she 
flopped  down  into  the  nearest  seat  at  hand.  "That 
is  really  a  most  interesting  and  all-important  ques- 
tion, and  we  will  come  to  that  anon.  But  first  I 
want  to  remark  that  I  feel  as  though  we  had  been 
nearly  caught  at  a  regular  spread." 

"Spread!  Where  have  I  heard  that  word  be- 
fore?" exclaimed  Laura  dramatically.  "Isn't  it  time 
we  had  a  regular  one?  I  tell  you  what,  girls,  let's 
celebrate  by  having  a  real  honest-to-goodness  spread. 
There's  a  reason." 

"As  if  you  ever  needed  a  reason  for  having  a 
spread !"  laughed  Bess.  "But  I  second  the  motion." 

"I'm  expecting  a  box  from  home  any  minute," 
said  Rhoda,  "and  I'll  donate  it  to  the  cause." 


In  the  Dormitory  49 

"I'll  furnish  the  fruit,"  Grace  offered. 

"Dandy !"  exclaimed  Laura.  "Put  me  down  for 
cocoa  and  milk  and  sugar.,  Will  you  supply  the 
sandwiches,  Nan?" 

"I'm  willing  to  furnish  the  sandwiches,"  agreed 
Nan,  a  little  doubtfully.  "But  do  you  think  we'd 
better  have  it  just  now?" 

"Oh,  come  on,  Nan,"  urged  Laura.  "Be  a  sport. 
Isn't  Grace  worth  a  chance  ?" 

And  Nan,  unwilling  to  spoil  the  others'  sport,  as- 
sented, though  with  some  inward  misgiving. 

"Can't  we  go  to  town  to-morrow  after  recita- 
tions, and  get  the  things?"  Bess  proposed. 

"O.  K.,"  acquiesced  Laura  contentedly.  "And 
now  to  return  to  the  vital  question.  What,  Grace 
darling,  are  you  going  to  wear  at  Palm  Beach  ?" 

"I'd  like  to  get  new  gowns  and  things,"  Grace  re- 
plied ;  "but  it's  hard  to  get  summer  clothes  in  win- 
ter. Of  course,  I've  got  last  summer's  things." 

"I'd  feel  that  I  was  pretty  well  fitted  out  already 
if  I  had  your  last  summer's  things,"  observed  Laura. 

"I  should  say  as  much!"  agreed  Rhoda.  "The 
idea  of  Grace  Mason  needing  a  new  summer  outfit. 
What's  the  objection  to  that  lovely  crepe  de  chine 
that  made  me  green  with  envy  when  you  wore  it 
last  summer?" 

"Or  that  voile  with  the  heliotrope  flowers  ?"  sup- 
plemented Nan.  "Or  the  white  net  with  the  em- 
broidered flounces?" 


50  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Or  that  blue  taffeta  that  you  looked  so  stunning 
in  at  the  garden  party  ?"  said  Rhoda. 

"Or  the  old  rose  georgette  with  the  touch  of  black 
velvet,  to  say  nothing  of  half  a  dozen  others?" 
added  Bess. 

"Since  you  are  resurrecting  the  old  gowns  so 
vigorously,"  laughed  Grace,  "I  begin  to  think  I  may 
get  through  without  so  many  new  things  after  all, 
especially  as  the  old  gowns  will  be  new  to  the  peo- 
ple I  shall  meet  at  Palm  Beach.  Of  course  mother 
will  have  a  dressmaker,  and  she'll  alter  and  freshen 
up  and  make  a  few  new  things.  But  she  can't  do 
such  a  very  great  deal  in  the  little  time  from  now  to 
the  holidays.  If  it  was  any  other  place  than  Palm 
Beach,  I  wouldn't  even  think  about  dress.  But  it's 
such  a  very  swell  place,  you  know,  girls,  and  I  don't 
want  to  feel  out  of  place  while  I'm  there.  Of  course 
you  know  how  I  feel." 

"Sure  we  do,"  Laura  assured  her.  "But  I'll 
guarantee  that  with  what  you  have  and  what  you'll 
be  able  to  add,  you'll  feel  very  much  in  it,  even  at 
Palm  Beach." 

"And  now,  ladies,"  said  Rhoda,  "that  the  all-im- 
portant subject  of  dress  is  disposed  of,  I  move  that 
Nan  pass  around  for  our  refreshment  those  fine 
Florida  oranges  I  see  on  the  table  there." 

Nan  laughingly  complied,  and  Bess  suddenly  ex- 
claimed as  she  peeled  the  rind  from  her  orange : 
"This  reminds  me,  Grace.     How  will  it  seem  to 


In  the  Dormitory  51 

be  walking  through  lovely  orange  groves  with  the 
beautiful  golden  fruit  showing  between  the  leaves?" 

"And,"  Nan  supplemented,  "to  be  able  to  pick 
and  eat  the  oranges  with  the  warmth  of  the  sun 
upon  them!  I  have  heard  that  the  flavor  is  very 
different  from  what  we  are  accustomed  to." 

"And  imagine,"  Rhoda  added  longingly,  "not  only 
being  able  to  feast  on  the  delicious  oranges  but  to 
have  the  fragrance  of  the  wonderful  blossoms  all 
around  you  as  you  walk  through  the  groves." 

"Oh,  girls,  girls !"  cried  Grace,  "you  make  me  im- 
patient to  be  there  at  this  very  minute.  There's  one 
thing,"  she  added  quizzically,  "if  no  other  orange 
blossoms  ever  come  my  way,  I'll  at  least  have  had 
those." 

"No  need  for  you  to  worry  about  that,"  returned 
Laura,  "with  that  young  Palm  Beach  millionaire — 
or  is  it  billionaire  ? — waiting  to  greet  you  and  some 
day  crown  that  fair  brow  of  thine  with  fragrant 
orange  blooms.  Methinks  I  can  already  smell  their 
fragrance  and  hear  the  strains  of  the  justly  cele- 
brated wedding  march  of  Mendelssohn." 

"What  vivid  imaginations  some  people  have,"  re- 
turned Grace  calmly. 

"Oh,  dear,"  sighed  Nan  musingly,  "doesn't  it 
seem  a  shame  that  everybody  can't  have  wonderful 
things?  If  only  a  very  small  part  of  the  surplus 
wealth  could  be  divided  among  those  who  are  strug- 
gling just  to  live,  what  a  different  world  this  would 


52  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

be.  It  doesn't  seem  right  that  so  many  people  should 
have  everything  and  others  have  little  else  than  work 
and  worry.  Those  people  at  Palm  Beach  have 
wealth,  luxury,  everything  to  make  life  splendid, 
while  others  have  so  little.  Things  certainly  are  un- 
even in  this  world.  Take  Mrs.  Bragley,  for  in- 
stance." 

"I  tell  you  what  we'll  do,  girls,"  said  Grace  impul- 
sively. "We'll  make  a  spread  for  Mrs.  Bragley  as 
well  as  for  ourselves." 

"Fine!"  ejaculated  Rhoda.  "We'll  fill  a  basket 
with  canned  meat  and  some  potatoes  and " 

"No,  no,"  interrupted  Grace  impulsively,  "not 
those  things.  Let's  give  her  a  real  spread  with  some- 
thing out  of  the  ordinary." 

"Jellies,"  proposed  Bess. 

"Glass  jars  of  imported  strawberries  and  cher- 
ries," suggested  Laura. 

"A  great  bunch  of  those  wonderful  California 
grapes,"  contributed  Grace. 

"And  some  Florida  oranges,"  added  Nan. 

"Great!"  commented  Grace.  "When  shall  we  do 
it?" 

"Let's  see,"  mused  Nan.  "We  have  our  Latin 
class  at  two.  We'll  be  through  by  three.  Let's  make 
it  three-thirty  o'clock  to-morrow." 

"I'm  afraid  you'll  have  to  go  without  me,"  said 
Grace.  "I  promised  mother  I'd  answer  her  letter 
right  away,  so  I'll  have  to  get  that  off  to-morrow." 


In  the  Dormitory  53 

"I  can't  go  either,"  said  Laura.  "I  have  those 
French  exercises  to  make  up  before  to-morrow 
night.  I'd  like  to  go,  but  I  suppose  I  can't  with  that 
to  do." 

"Then,  Bess,"  said  Nan,  "you  and  Rhoda  and  I 
will  be  a  committee  of  three  to  wait  on  Mrs.  Brag- 
ley  to-morrow." 

"Girls,  isn't  it  warm  in  here  ?"  questioned  Laura. 

"Warm?  With  the  heating  plant  broken  down?" 
queried  Nan. 

"It  feels  warm  and  I'm  going  to  open  a  window," 
went  on  Laura,  and,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word, 
she  shoved  up  a  window  that  was  handy. 

"Birr!"  came  from  several  of  the  others. 

"My,  but  that's  cold!" 

"We'll  all  get  sick!" 

"I  know  a  way  to  fix  Laura!"  cried  Rhoda,  and, 
as  she  spoke,  the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch  leaned  out 
of  the  window  and  reached  upward. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  asked  Bess. 

"Get  an  icicle  for  her,"  answered  Rhoda,  and  a 
moment  later  brought  to  view  an  icicle  she  had 
broken  away  from  a  projection  above  the  window. 
The  icicle  was  all  of  a  foot  and  a  half  long  and  an 
inch  or  more  in  thickness. 

"No,  you  don't!"  cried  Laura,  leaping  away  as 
Rhoda  came  after  her  with  the  bit  of  ice.  "Don't 
you  dare  to  put  that  thing  down  my  neck !" 

"It  will  cool  you  off,  Laura,"  said  Rhoda;  but 


54  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

just  then  she  slipped  and  went  down,  shattering  the 
icicle  into  fragments. 

"No  more  noise,"  whispered  Bess,  closing  the 
window. 

At  that  moment,  Nan's  clock,  sounding  the  first 
stroke  of  midnight,  startled  the  girls. 

"The  hour  indeed  waxeth  late,"  whispered  Laura, 
and  vanished. 

One  by  one  the  others  noiselessly  followed.  There 
was  the  almost  inaudible  sound  of  softly  closing 
doors,  and  quiet  reigned  over  Lakeview  Kail. 

In  Nan's  room  for  the  second  time  that  night 
there  was  the  sound  of  measured  breathing,  but  this 
time  it  was  genuine. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

ON    THE    ROAD 

"UcH !"  shivered  Nan  the  next  morning  when 
she  came  into  the  room  after  her  bath.  "This  isn't 
Palm  Beach,  is  it,  Bess  ?  More  like  the  North  Pole, 
eh?" 

"Palm  Beach,"  echoed  Bess  disgustedly,  as  she 
reluctantly  slipped  out  of  her  warm  bed  and  reached 
for  her  bathrobe.  "It  reminds  me  of  it — it's  so  dif- 
ferent. When  that  horrid  old  rising  gong  sounded, 
I  was  dreaming  that  I  was  there  standing  on  the 
beach  ready  for  a  swim.  I  can  feel  that  warm  sand 
about  my  feet  now,"  and  she  gave  her  cold  little  feet 
a  vicious  shove  into  her  far  from  warm  bedroom 
slippers. 

"I  don't  believe  Grace  has  slept  much,"  smiled 
Nan. 

"I  know  she  hasn't,"  returned  Bess,  as  she  hur- 
riedly dressed.  "I'm  sure  I  wouldn't  have  slept  a 
wink  if  I  had  been  in  her  place.  I  believe  I'd  just 
die  if  I  were." 

"Then,"  returned  Nan  cheerfully,  fastening  the 
last  snapper  in  her  belt,  "I'm  exceedingly  glad  you're 

55 


56  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

not  in  Grace's  place,  for  I  prefer  to  see  you  alive  a 
little  longer." 

They  found  Grace  and  Rhoda  already  in  the  lower 
hall,  and  knew  by  their  flushed  faces  that  last  night's 
news  was  still  the  fascinating  topic  of  conversation. 
All  joined  in,  and  were  soon  so  absorbed  that  Laura's 
voice  made  them  start. 

"Beginning  where  you  left  off  last  night?"  she 
was  asking.  "I  don't  believe  Grace  went  to  bed  at 
all,  but  just  sat  up  and  anticipated  all  night  long." 

"Not  quite  so  bad  as  that,"  laughed  Grace.  "I 
went  to  bed,  but  I  confess  that  I  was  too  excited  to 
sleep  very  much." 

"It's  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  all  of  us  dreamed 
of  Palm  Beach,  anyway,"  Bess  conjectured. 

"I  did,"  replied  Laura,  chuckling  at  the  remem- 
brance. "I  dreamed  I  was  standing  on  one  of  those 
great  broad  piazzas.  The  moon  was  shining  so 
brightly  that  the  palm  trees  stood  out  clearly,  and 
the  gleam  of  the  spray  could  be  plainly  seen  as  the 
breakers  came  rolling  up  on  the  beach.  The  air  was 
warm  and  delightful,  and  I  was  thinking  how  happy 
I  was  to  be  there  and  of  you  unlucky  girls  shivering 
here  at  Lakeview  Hall,  when  a  gong  clanged,  some 
one  shouted  'fire/  and  smoke  came  pouring  out  of 
the  hotel  windows.  I  was  so  frightened  I  woke  up 
and  found  that  old  rising  gong  getting  in  its  work. 
I  tell  you,  girls,  I  was  mad  enough  to  bite  some- 
body." 


On  the  Road  57 

"Serves  you  right  for  leaving  us  here  to  freeze 
when  you  could  so  easily  have  taken  us  with  you," 
joked  Nan. 

Several  times  while  the  girls  were  chatting,  Linda 
Riggs  and  Cora  Courtney  had  passed  very  close  to 
them  in  an  effort  to  hear  what  they  were  so  excitedly 
talking  about.  But  the  girls  had  purposely  lowered 
their  voices  till,  when  the  two  passed,  they  were 
talking  in  whispers.  It  was  a  great  satisfaction  to 
get  Linda  so  keyed  up  with  curiosity. 

"Some  people  are  afraid  to  speak  aloud,"  Linda 
remarked  to  Cora,  during  one  of  their  walks  past 
the  group,  "because  they  don't  dare  let  people  know 
what  they're  talking  about." 

"They  seem  to  think  it's  smart  to  be  mysterious," 
sniffed  Cora. 

But  when  they  reached  the  end  of  the  corridor, 
Linda  stopped  and  said : 

"What  do  you  suppose  they  are  talking  about 
anyway?  I  bet  they  are  hatching  up  something.  I'd 
give  my  eyes  to  find  out  what  it  is,  especially  if  Nan 
Sherwood  is  in  it." 

"You  love  her,  don't  you?"  Cora  asked  sarcastic- 
ally. 

"As  I  love  poison  ivy,"  Linda  snapped  vindic- 
tively. "I  never  could  bear  her." 

"She  was  ordered  to  Doctor  Beulah's  room  yes- 
terday," said  Cora.  "I  bet  she  got  a  calling  down 
for  nearly  killing  that  woman." 


58  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"That's  something  I  never  did,"  sneered  Linda; 
"nearly  kill  any  one.  Of  course,  I'm  glad  no  serious 
harm  came  to  the  woman.  I  don't  want  to  see  her 
hurt.  But  what  fun  it  would  have  been,  to  see  Nan 
Sherwood  up  in  court  for  manslaughter." 

Just  at  that  moment  Bess  Harley,  who  had  gone 
up  to  her  room  for  a  handkerchief,  came  down  the 
stairs  and  heard  the  spiteful  remark.  Shocked  and 
indignant,  she  said  angrily: 

"Of  course,  Linda  Riggs,  I  know  what  makes  you 
say  those  horrid  things  about  Nan.  It's  because  she 
beat  you  in  the  race  yesterday.  And  that  wasn't  the 
last  time,  either.  She'll  always  beat  you,  because 
she's  worth  a  dozen  of  you." 

Bess  had  unconsciously  raised  her  voice,  and  Nan, 
hearing  the  angry  words,  came  quickly,  and,  laying 
her  hand  soothingly  on  her  chum's  arm,  said : 

"Don't  mind,  dear,  come  along,"  and  drew  her 
'gently  away. 

They  passed  into  the  breakfast  room,  while  Linda, 
who  had  found  no  answer  ready,  looked  after  them 
vindictively. 

She  turned  to  Cora,  and,  giving  her  foot  a  vicious 
stamp,  said: 

"Never  mind,  I'll  see  that  Nan  Sherwood  gets  all 
that's  coming  to  her." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Cora,  her  curiosity 
aroused. 

"I  haven't  thought  it  all  out,"  snapped  Linda,  "but 


On  the  Road  59 

I  have  an  idea,  a  big  idea.  I'll  tell  you  what  it  is 
later." 

Lessons  rather  dragged  that  morning.  The  girls 
were  impatient  to  get  together  and  talk.  A  thou- 
sand things  they  had  heard  and  read  of  the  glories 
of  Palm  Beach  came  between  them  and  the  printed 
page,  and  questions  that  burned  to  be  asked  would 
persist  in  pushing  their  lessons  from  their  minds. 
Everybody  was  relieved  by  the  ripple  of  laughter 
that  went  round  the  class  when  Laura,  a  question 
of  capital  cities  coming  up,  slipped  and  said  that  the 
capital  of  Florida  was  the  Royal  Poinciana. 

Her  teacher  stared. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  Laura?"  she  said  frigidly. 

Laura  reddened. 

"I — I — meant  Palm  Beach,"  she  stammered. 
"Er — er — I  should  say,  I  meant  Tallahassee." 

The  girls  who  were  in  the  secret  of  Grace's  forth- 
coming trip  giggled  and  looked  meaningly  at  each 
other,  and  the  recitation  went  on.  But  the  slowest 
quarter  hours  will  pass  at  last,  and  on  this  day  they 
merged  into  hours  and  finally  brought  three  o'clock 
and  freedom. 

"That's  over  at  last !  Did  you  ever  live  through 
such  a  long  day?"  asked  Nan,  as  she  put  away  her 
books  and  took  her  coat  from  the  form.  "Now  for 
Mrs.  Bragley." 

"But  first,"  said  Bess,  snatching  up  a  small  bon- 
bon dish  from  the  table,  "we've  got  to  have  funds.,, 


6o          Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

and  'the  collection  will  now  be  taken.'  My,  but  you 
girls  are  generous !"  she  exclaimed  exultantly,  after 
she  had  counted  up  the  donations.  "Mrs.  Bragley 
is  going  to  have  some  spread !" 

The  committee  of  three  went  around  by  way  of 
the  town  in  order  to  purchase  materials  for  the  sur- 
prise spread  for  the  woman  they  had  run  down. 
When  the  basket  was  filled  they  fairly  reveled  in  the 
attractiveness  of  its  contents.  Boxes  of  crisp  deli- 
cate crackers,  tumblers  of  jelly,  jars  of  imported 
strawberries  and  cherries,  a  bunch  of  California 
grapes  that  Rhoda  said  she  was  sure  would  weigh 
three  pounds,  and  some  unusually  fine  Florida 
oranges.  Piling  the  basket  on  the  sled  that  they  had 
brought  with  them,  they  started  gaily  off,  dragging 
it  behind  them. 

After  they  had  covered  half  the  distance  a  voice 
hailed  them,  and  Walter  came  dashing  up  behind 
them  in  his  cutter.  Reining  in  the  spirited  horse  he 
was  driving,  he  cried : 

"Jump  in,  girls.    It's  a  dandy  day  for  a  spin." 

But  they  laughingly  refused. 

"Too  many  of  us  for  that  cutter,"  said  Rhoda. 
"We'd  make  an  awful  load." 

"And  we  don't  want  any  men  around  anyway,  to- 
day," laughed  Bess. 

Walter  heard,  but  he  saw  only  Nan's  glowing 
face.  What  he  thought  about  that  face  was  plainly 
to  be  read  in  his  eyes. 


On  the  Road  61 

"Isn't  there  anything  that  I  can  do  for  you?"  he 
asked.  "Don't  you  want  me  to  run  the  basket  up  to 
the  cottage  for  you  ?" 

"No,  thanks,"  replied  Nan.  "We're  getting  along 
finely.  It's  awfully  good  of  you,  just  the  same." 

Walter  chirped  to  his  horse,  still  with  his  eyes  on 
Nan's  smiling  face,  and,  lifting  his  hat,  drove  on. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   JOY   OF   GIVING 

AFTER  Walter  left  it  did  not  take  the  girls  with 
their  sled  long  to  reach  Sarah  Bragley's  modest  little 
cottage. 

Mrs.  Ellis  opened  the  door  at  their  knock. 

"How  is  Mrs.  Bragley  to-day?"  Nan  asked,  as 
they  went  in. 

"As  well  as  can  be  expected,"  replied  the  nurse. 
"She  had  a  little  fever  last  night,  but  not  enough  to 
be  at  all  anxious  about." 

"Has  the  doctor  been  here  to-day?"  queried 
Rhoda. 

"Yes,"  was  the  reply,  "about  an  hour  ago." 

"What  did  he  say?" 

"He  says  she  is  doing  very  well,"  Mrs.  Ellis  an- 
swered. "The  only  thing  that  gives  him  any  con- 
cern is  her  lack  of  appetite.  If  he  can  coax  that,  he 
thinks  she  will  soon  be  well." 

'  "Perhaps  these  things  will  tempt  her,"  remarked 
Nan,  as  she  emptied  the  contents  of  the  basket  upon 
the  table. 

"How  splendid !"  exclaimed  the  nurse.    "They  are 
62 


The  Joy  of  Giving  63 

just  the  things  she  needs.  I'll  go  and  tell  her  that 
you  are  here,  and  you  can  take  them  in  to  her." 

Left  alone,  the  girls  glanced  around  them.  A 
warm  fire  blazed  in  the  stove.  Everything  in  the 
room  was  spotless. 

"Doesn't  it  look  nice?"  observed  Bess. 

"Couldn't  be  any  neater  or  more  comfortable," 
judged  Nan  with  satisfaction.  "I'm  so  glad  we 
could  get  Mrs.  Ellis." 

"She's  a  jewel,  and  no  mistake,"  affirmed  Rhoda. 

At  Mrs.  Ellis'  invitation,  the  three  girls  trooped 
into  Mrs.  Bragley's  room.  They  were  delighted  to 
find  her  propped  up  in  bed  and  looking  very  cheerful 
and  comfortable. 

"I'm  glad  to  see  you,  young  ladies,"  was  her 
greeting  to  them.  And  she  looked  with  pleasure 
into  the  bright  faces  as  the  girls  clustered  about  the 
bed. 

"You  are  feeling  pretty  good  to-day,  Mrs.  Ellis 
tells  us,"  said  Nan  brightly. 

"Oh,  very  much  better,"  was  the  reply.  "I  ought 
to  when  I  have  so  many  kind  friends." 

Just  then  the  nurse  came  in,  bringing  the  delica- 
cies that  the  girls  had  purchased. 

"See  what  these  friends  have  brought  you,"  she 
said,  as  she  lifted  the  things  one  by  one  from  the 
basket  and  placed  them  on  a  table  by  the  side  of 
the  bed. 

Mrs.  Bragley's  eyes  grew  wet  with  sudden  tears. 


64 

"You  are  too  good  to  me,  young  ladies!  What 
kind  hearts  there  are  in  the  world!" 

The  oranges  especially  seemed  to  please  her,  and 
•Mrs.  Ellis  prepared  one  for  her. 

"How  good  that  orange  tastes,"  she  remarked. 
"I've  always  been  very  fond  of  them.  At  one  time 
I  thought  I'd  be  owning  a  whole  grove  of  them. 
But  that  was  just  a  dream." 

"What  do  you  mean  ?"  Rhoda  asked,  with  interest. 

"Well,  dearie,"  answered  the  woman,  evidently 
pleased  with  Rhoda's  interest,  "some  years  ago  my 
husband  thought  he  saw  his  way  to  make  a  little 
fortune  for  us.  He  heard  of  a  company  in  Florida 
that  was  developing  orange  lands,  and  it  looked 
so  good  to  him  that  he  bought  a  share  in  it.  He 
thought  he  was  going  to  make  money  enough  out 
of  it  to  make  us  safe  for  life.  But  nothing  ever 
came  of  it." 

"Where  was  this  land?"  asked  Nan. 

"Let  me  see,"  mused  Mrs.  Bragley,  wrinkling  her 
brow  with  the  effort  to  remember.  "It  was  some- 
where in  Florida,  but  I  can't  remember  the  name. 
It  was — it  was — I  can't  just  think.  Not  that  it  mat- 
ters much,  anyhow,  but  I  hate  to  forget  things  that 
way.  Sun-sun- Sunny  Slopes.  That's  what  the  name 
was." 

"What  a  pretty  name !"  cried  Bess. 

"Yes.  But  that's  about  all  that  was  pretty  about 
it,"  replied  Mrs.  Bragley,  with  a  weak  smile.  "My 


The  Joy  of  Giving  65 

husband  invested  almost  all  his  savings  in  it  be- 
cause he  thought  it  was  going  to  make  him  rich," 

"When  was  that  ?"  asked  Nan,  who  was  growing 
deeply  interested. 

"Only  a  short  time  before  his  death,"  came  the 
answer  sadly. 

"But  haven't  you  heard  anything  about  it  since  ?" 
queried  Bess  wonderingly.  "You  may  really  be 
rich,  for  all  you  know." 

Mrs.  Bragley  smiled  wanly. 

"Not  much  chance  of  that,  I  fear,"  she  replied. 
"I  have  written  again  and  again,  but  have  never  re- 
ceived any  answer  to  my  letters.  I'm  afraid  it  was 
all  a  swindle." 

"You  must  have  papers  of  some  kind,"  observed 
Nan. 

"Yes,"  the  woman  assented.  "They're  in  that  bot- 
tom drawer  there,  if  you'll  trouble  to  get  them  for 
me." 

Nan  opened  the  drawer  indicated  and  took  from  it 
a  packet  of  papers.  The  documents  bore  marks  of 
frequent  folding  and  unfolding. 

"May  I  look  at  them  ?"  Nan  asked,  as  she  brought 
them  to  the  bedside. 

"Surely,"  was  the  ready  answer.  "And  if  one  of 
you  will  just  hand  me  my  specs,  I'll  look  over  them 
with  you  and  tell  you  all  about  them." 

The  three  girls  bent  eagerly  over  Mrs.  Bragley  as 
she  opened  one  paper  after  the  other,  prospectuses, 


66  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

several  of  them,  highly  colored  illustrated  leaflets 
and  descriptive  circulars.  Then  came  a  certificate 
for  forty  shares  in  the  Sunny  Slopes  Development 
Company.  The  only  individual  name  on  any  of  the 
papers  seemed  to  be  that  of  Jacob  Pacomb,  who,  it 
appeared,  was  the  manager  and  the  developer  of  the 
tract. 

"It's  extremely  strange  that  no  answer  ever  came 
to  any  of  your  letters,"  remarked  Rhoda,  as  she 
scanned  the  documents.  "Did  any  of  the  letters 
ever  come  back?" 

"Not  one,"  was  the  reply. 

"Perhaps  the  man  did  not  receive  them,"  con- 
jectured Nan. 

"In  that  case,"  Mrs.  Bragley  replied,  "the  letters 
would  have  been  returned  to  me,  as  I  put  my  name 
and  address  on  the  outside." 

"This  man,  Pacomb,"  suggested  Bess,  "may  have 
died  and  all  of  the  letters  may  have  been  de- 
stroyed." 

"That  wouldn't  be  very  likely,"  objected  Nan. 
"Some  one  would  probably  have  settled  up  the  busi- 
ness or  taken  it  over  and  kept  on  with  it.  In  either 
case,  the  letters  would  almost  surely  have  been  an- 
swered." 

"I  have  thought  of  all  that,"  the  woman  replied  ; 
"and  that  is  why  I  think  it  must  have  been  all  a 
fraud.  If  I  had  been  able  to  spare  the  money  I 
would  have  taken  a  trip  to  Florida  and  looked  into 


The  three  girls  bent  eagerly  over  Mrs.   Bragley  as  she  opened 
one  paper  after  another.  (See  page  65) 


The  Joy  of  Giving  67 

the  matter  myself,  but  I  never  felt  that  I  could  af- 
ford it." 

"It  is  too  bad  you  couldn't  have  gone,"  said 
Rhoda  thoughtfully;  "for  if  there  was  fraud  you 
would  then  at  least  have  found  it  out  and  could  have 
had  somebody  punished.  It  looks  to  me  that,  know- 
ing you  were  a  widow  and  without  means  to  look 
into  things,  they  have  deliberately  held  back  any 
money  that  might  have  been  coming  to  you  and 
cheated  you  out  of  your  rights." 

The  girls  had  been  so  interested  in  the  papers  and 
the  story  that  went  with  them  that  they  had  thought 
of  nothing  else.  Now  Nan,  suddenly  glancing  up, 
noticed  that  the  old  face  looked  white  and  tired. 
She  rose  at  once. 

"I'm  afraid  we've  stayed  too  long,"  she  said  peni- 
tently. "We  ought  to  have  remembered  that  Mrs. 
Bragley  isn't  strong." 

She  replaced  the  papers  in  the  drawer,  smoothed 
the  bed  covers,  and  gave  the  injured  woman  a  com- 
forting pat  on  the  shoulders. 

"I  hope  you  will  be  well  again  very  soon,"  she 
said,  "and  then  perhaps  some  way  will  be  found  to 
look  into  this  matter." 

"Anyway,  we're  going  to  try  to  do  something 
about  it,"  promised  Rhoda  as  they  took  their 
leave. 

The  girls  found  when  they  got  outside  that  it  had 
begun  to  snow. 


68  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Looks  to  me  as  if  we  were  in  for  anotfier  storm," 
was  Rhoda's  comment,  as  they  trudged  along. 

"Who  cares?"  cried  Bess,  catching  up  a  handful 
of  the  snow  and  making  a  snowball. 

"You  can't  hit  anything,"  scoffed  Nan.    "Try  it." 

"All  right,  here  goes  for  the  blacksmith  shop," 
answered  Bess  gaily,  for  they  were  almost  directly 
in  front  of  the  little  ««nithy. 

"Gracious !  Going  to  try  to  hit  the  whole  build- 
ing?" queried  the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch. 

"A  blind  man  could  do  that,"  added  Nan. 

"I'm  going  to  hit  the  door — the  very  middle  of 
the  door,"  answered  Bess. 

"Oh,  Bess!  if  the  man  is  inside,  what  will  he 
think?"  said  Nan. 

"I  don't  care  what  he  thinks,"  was  the  quick  re- 
ply. "Here  goes!" 

Away  flew  the  snowball,  and  it  must  be  admitted 
that  Bess's  aim  was  decidedly  good,  for  the  snow- 
ball sailed  directly  for  the  center  of  the  door  of  the 
smithy. 

But  as  the  girl  launched  the  snowball  the  cloor  of 
the  blacksmith  shop  opened  and  a  man  came  forth. 
Spat!  the  snowball  landed  directly  in  the  man's 
face! 


CHAPTER  X 

A    MIDNIGHT    FEAST 

"Mv  GRACIOUS,  Bess,  see  what  you  have  done!" 
cried  Nan. 

"You  certainly  hit  the  bull's  eye  that  time,"  was 
Rhoda's  comment. 

"Oh!"  was  the  only  word  Bess  could  utter,  and 
she  stood  there  in  the  roadway,  her  arm  still  poised 
high  in  the  air  as  when  she  had  thrown  the  snow- 
ball. 

"Hi,  you!  Wot  yer  mean  by  heavin'  snowballs 
at  me?"  screamed  the  man,  as  he  wiped  the  snow 
from  his  face.  "You  let  me  alone!  I  ain't  done 
no  harm,  I  ain't." 

He  waved  his  hands  wildly  in  the  air.  The  girls 
now  noticed  that  he  was  in  tatters  and  had  a  very 
red  nose,  doubtless  made  redder  than  ever  by  the 
snowball. 

"Come,  move  on  now,"  said  a  voice  from  the 
smithy,  and  a  tall  man  wearing  a  leather  apron  ap- 
peared. "I  told  you  before  I'd  not  have  you  hang- 
ing around  here.  Git !" 

"I  ain't  gonner  be  snowballed!"  cried  the  tramp, 
69 


70  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

for  such  he  was.  "Tain't  fair.  I'm  an  honest  man, 
I  am.  You  lemme  alone." 

"I'll  do  worse  than  snowball  you  if  you  don't 
clear  out,  and  that  mighty  quick,"  cried  the  black- 
smith. "I  know  what  you  came  in  this  place  for — 
you  came  to  steal  horseshoes  and  then  sell  'em  over 
to  Beavertown." 

"I  didn't — I  came  in  to  git  warm,"  sniveled  the 
tramp.  But  then,  as  the  blacksmith  reached  for  a 
whip,  he  fairly  ran  down  the  snowy  road  and  out  of 
sight. 

"Wasn't  I  lucky?"  said  Bess,  when  the  girls  had 
explained  matters  to  the  blacksmith  and  moved  on 
once  more  in  the  direction  of  the  hall.  "Only  a 
tramp,  and  it  might  have  been  the  blacksmith  him- 
self!" 

"Well,  we  admit  your  aim  was  good,"  answered 
Nan  drily. 

As  they  made  their  way  back  to  the  school  the 
girls  talked  over  the  matter  of  Mrs.  Bragley's  prop- 
erty. They  came  across  Grace  in  the  hall,  and, 
bearing  her  off  to  Nan's  room,  told  her  the  story  of 
Sunny  Slopes. 

"Why!"  exclaimed  Grace,  as  a  thought  suddenly 
struck  her,  "I'll  have  dad  look  that  up  while  we're 
down  at  Palm  Beach.  You  know  he's  a  lawyer. 
Maybe  Sunny  Slopes  isn't  far  from  where  we'll  be 
staying.  I'll  get  him  to  see  what  he  can  do." 

"That  will  be  perfectly  darling!"  exclaimed  Nan 


A  Midnight  Feast  71 

enthusiastically,  and  the  others  heartily  agreed  with 
her. 

The  next  day,  while  returning  from  town  where 
they  had  been  stocking  up  for  the  feast  they  had 
promised  themselves,  they  again  met  Walter  Mason. 

"Hello,  girls,"  he  called,  as  he  came  up  to  them. 

"Hello,  Palm  Beach,"  returned  Laura. 

"So  you've  heard  about  it,  have  you  ?"  Walter  re- 
sponded, with  a  laugh. 

"Have  we?"  replied  Nan.  "We  haven't  heard  or 
talked  or  thought  of  anything  else  since  Grace  told 
us." 

"Of  course  you're  going  along?"  said  Bess  ques- 
tioningly. 

"Of  course,"  Walter  answered.  "But,  to  tell  the 
truth,  I'm  not  a  bit  eager  to  go.  I'd  rather  stay  right 
here." 

They  chatted  a  few  minutes  longer,  and  then 
Walter  left  them  and  the  girls  resumed  their  walk 
toward  the  school. 

"Why  do  you  suppose  Walter  would  rather  stay 
here  than  go  to  Palm  Beach?"  Laura  asked  inno- 
cently of  no  one  in  particular. 

"That  isn't  hard  to  guess,"  replied  Bess,  with  a 
mischievous  glance  at  Nan.  "What  do  you  think 
about  it,  Nan?" 

"I  haven't  any  opinion,"  answered  Nan  demurely. 
"What  I  do  know,  though,  is  that  we'll  have  to  hurry 
if  we  get  back  to  the  school  before  dark." 


72 

That  night  had  been  set  for  the  "spread,"  and  the 
girls  went  early  to  their  rooms  to  get  their  lessons 
for  the  next  day  out  of  the  way.  A  most  unusual 
and  unnatural  silence  reigned  in  Nan's  room  for 
nearly  two  hours.  It  was  broken  by  a  book  snapping 
shut  as  Bess  sprang  to  her  feet,  exclaiming  with 
satisfaction : 

"There,  that's  done !  And  it's  the  last,  thank  for- 
tune." 

"Same  here,"  answered  Nan  happily,  as  she  gath- 
ered books  and  paper  together  and  tossed  them  into 
a  far  corner  of  the  room. 

"Why,  Nan!"  exclaimed  Bess  in  surprise,  glanc- 
ing at  the  clock,  "where  do  you  suppose  the  girls 
are?  They  were  to  be  on  hand  at  ten  o'clock,  and 
it's  now  five  minutes  after." 

"Lessons,"  replied  Nan  laconically.  "They'll  be 
here  any  second  now." 

As  she  spoke  the  door  opened  softly,  and  Laura 
slipped  in  with  a  bundle  of  things  in  her  arms. 
Placing  them  on  the  table,  she  went  back  and  softly 
closed  the  door. 

"Do  you  know,  girls,"  she  said  in  a  low  tone,  "I 
met  Linda  Riggs  as  I  was  coming  through  the  hall, 
and  her  eyes  were  two  big  bundles  of  curiosity  when 
she  saw  the  things  in  my  arms.  I  shouldn't  be  sur- 
prised  " 

Suddenly,  without  waiting  to  finish  the  sentence, 
she  went  back  to  the  door,  opened  it  quickly  and 


A  Midnight  Feast  73 

stepped  out  into  the  hall  to  see  Linda,  looking  red 
and  confused,  walking  hurriedly  away. 

Laura  called  after  her. 

"Was  there  anything  you  wanted,  Linda?"  she 
inquired  sweetly. 

"No,  thank  you,"  came  the  pert  rejoinder.  "Not 
now.  Later,  perhaps." 

Laura  returned. 

"Of  all  the  mean,  sneaking "  she  began,  but 

Nan  laughingly  interrupted.  . 

"There,  there,  Laura,  what's  the  use  ?  Don't  give 
her  a  second  thought." 

"She  isn't  worth  it,  that's  a  fact,"  Laura  con- 
tented herself  with  saying,  and  the  next  minute  the 
entrance  of  the  other  girls  laden  with  parcels  put 
anything  else  out  of  her  mind. 

Rhoda's  box,  much  to  the  girl's  uneasiness,  had 
been  delayed,  but  had  come  that  night  just  before 
dinner.  Now  she  deposited  it  unopened  on  a  chair. 

"I  thought  it  would  be  fun  to  open  it  here  and 
see  what  blessings  it  had  in  store  for  us,"  she  ex- 
plained, as  she  proceeded  to  open  and  unpack  it. 

"Blessings!"  echoed  Nan.  "Well,  I  should  say 
they  were,"  she  added,  as,  one  after  another,  a  big 
layer  cake,  a  small  fruit  cake,  some  cakes  prettily 
iced,  bottles  of  choice  olives,  salted  almonds  and 
peanuts,  jars  of  jelly  and  marmalade,  fruit,  and  a 
big  package  of  fresh  assorted  bonbons  were  drawn 
from  the  box. 


74  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Oh,  for  pity's  sake,  girls,  let's  hurry  and  get  at 
them,"  cried  Laura.  "My  mouth's  fairly  watering 
for  them." 

As  she  spoke,  she  drew  Nan's  spirit  lamp  from  its 
shelf  and  soon  had  the  water  for  cocoa  boiling  in  a 
small  saucepan. 

"Why  in  the  world,"  said  Grace  as  she  set  the 
plates  and  cups  and  saucers  on  the  table,  "did  we  go 
and  buy  all  these  things?  If  we'd  only  known  what 
that  box  was  going  to  hold  we  wouldn't  have  needed 
half  of  them." 

"No  matter,  the  sandwiches  and  ice  cream  will 
come  in  well,"  said  Laura.  "That  is,"  she  added, 
"if  there's  anything  of  the  ice  cream  left.  I  put  it 
outside  the  minute  we  got  it  here,  but  it's  had  a  long 
time  to  wait." 

"It  won't  have  to  wait  much  longer,"  exulted  Bess, 
as  the  girls  gathered  around  the  table  and  the  feast 
began. 

"Hey!  don't  let  Grace  cut  that  fruit  cake  yet," 
said  Nan,  her  mouth  full  of  cream  cheese  sand- 
wich. "There  won't  be  a  raisin  left  for  the  rest  of 
us." 

"If  you  eat  many  more  sandwiches,"  laughed 
Grace,  "you  won't  have  room  left  for  even  a  raisin." 
And  she  calmly  proceeded  not  only  to  cut  the  cake, 
but  to  help  herself  to  a  very  generous  slice. 

"Um-um — this  is  good,"  she  said.  "Fruit  cake  is 
my  special  weakness." 


A  Midnight  Feast  75 

"Yes,  and  it's  our  duty  to  help  you  conquer  that 
weakness,"  remarked  Laura  virtuously,  as  she  drew 
the  fruit  cake  over  to  her  side  of  the  table. 

"Now  where  did  I  put  that  sugar  bowl?"  asked 
Bess,  as  she  finished  pouring  her  third  cup  of 
cocoa. 

"Here  it  is,"  replied  Rhoda,  as  she  accommodat- 
ingly handed  over  a  small  glass  bowl  from  which 
Bess  helped  herself  to  a  generous  double  spoonful. 
One  swallow  of  her  cocoa,  and  she  began  to  sputter 
and  gasp,  and  finally  made  a  frantic  grab  for  a 
tumbler  of  water. 

"What  on  earth  is  the  matter  with  the  child?" 
asked  Laura. 

"Salt,"  Bess  managed  to  articulate.  "You  gave 
me  the  salt,  Rhoda,  instead  of  the  sugar.  Oh,  what 
a  dose!" 

The  girls  wanted  to  shout  with  laughter,  but  cau- 
tion made  them  smother  it  as  much  as  possible.  And 
just  at  this  juncture,  the  door  opened  part  way  with- 
out even  one  little  warning  squeak,  and  a  severe  voice 
said: 

"Young  ladies,  report  to  me  at  my  office  at  noon 
to-morrow." 


CHAPTER  XI 

A   DANGEROUS    PLOT 

THE  girls,  their  laughter  quenched,  gazed  at  each 
other  for  a  few  seconds  with  stupefaction.  Then 
Nan  sprang  to  the  door,  opened  it,  and  caught  sight 
of  a  silently  scurrying  figure  that  could  not  by  any 
means  be  confounded  with  Mrs.  Cupp's  angular  form 
or  slow,  measured  movements. 

The  other  girls,  astonished,  gazed  at  Nan  open- 
mouthed  as  she  re-entered  the  room  with  flushed 
and  indignant  face  and  uttered  the  one  enlightening 
word: 

"Linda." 

"It  sure  was !" 

"Of  all  the  nerve !"  began  Laura  slowly. 

"Of  all  the  meanness,  I  should  say,"  amended 
Rhoda  indignantly,  as  she  turned  the  key  in  the 
door. 

Then  the  funny  side  struck  them,  and  they  sat 
doubled  up  with  suppressed  laughter. 

With  increased  hilarity  the  feast  went  on.  The 
ice  cream  was  brought  in  and  found  to  be  in  a  very 
creditable  state  of  preservation,  and  the  layer  cake 


A  Dangerous  Plot  77 

and  small  iced  cakes  were  very  soon  being  gobbled 
up. 

To  illustrate  that  "variety  is  the  spice  of  life,"  so 
she  said,  Laura  had  just  followed  some  ice  cream 
with  a  sour  pickle,  when  a  footstep  neared  the  door 
and  a  stern  voice  commanded  them  to  open  it. 

"Linda,"  whispered  Grace  to  Bess,  who  was  near- 
est her,  while  Laura  said  in  a  perfectly  audible 
though  subdued  voice : 

"You  can  just  go  about  your  business,  you  essence 
of  meanness." 

"You  needn't  think  you  can  work  that  trick  on 
us,  twice,"  added  Grace. 

"Don't  judge  our  intellects  by  your  own,"  scoffed 
Rhoda.  "You  must  think  we  were  born  yesterday." 

The  girls  laughed  at  the  sally,  and  silence  ensued 
[for  a  moment. 

"I  guess  that  has  disposed  of  Linda  for  the  rest 
of  the  night,"  exulted  Laura,  and  she  applied  her- 
self again  to  the  now  rapidly  melting  ice  cream. 

"Let's  finish  this  cream  while  the  eating's  good," 
laughed  Nan,  when  her  spoon  was  arrested  on  its 
way  to  her  mouth  by  a  voice  outside  the  door. 

"Nan  Sherwood,  I  command  you  to  open  this 
door." 

In  overwhelming  consternation  the  girls  rose  to 
their  feet,  and  Nan  unlocked  and  opened  the  door. 

Quivering  with  anger  and  outraged  dignity,  Mrs. 
Cupp  swept  the  room  with  flashing  eyes.  .  ,-\ 


78  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"You  will  go  to  your  rooms,  young  ladies,  and 
you  will  all  report  at  Dr.  Prescott's  room  to-morrow 
morning  at  ten  o'clock,"  she  decreed,  and,  turning, 
moved  majestically  down  the  corridor,  leaving  black 
consternation  behind  her. 

"Now,  we  are  in  for  it!"  gasped  Rhoda,  as  the 
sound  of  footsteps  died  away. 

Too  overwhelmed  to  say  another  word,  the  others 
slipped  away  to  their  rooms. 

The  next  morning,  with  many  inward  quakings, 
they  entered  the  principal's  room.  Dr.  Prescott's 
voice  was  severe  as  she  said  to  the  five  caught-in- 
the-act  delinquents: 

"You  are  ready  to  admit,  I  presume,  that  you  have 
broken  one  of  the  rules  of  the  school.  That  I  can 
understand.  But  that  you  should  have  been  guilty 
of  disrespect  to  one  of  the  officers  of  the  school  is 
quite  another  and  more  serious  thing.  Have  you 
any  explanation  to  offer?" 

After  a  moment's  silence,  Nan  acted  as  spokes- 
man. 

"We  did  not  intend  to  be  disrespectful  to  Mrs. 
Cupp,"  she  declared,  and  then  went  on  and  told  the 
whole  story. 

"That  puts  things  in  a  better  light,"  said  Dr. 
Prescott,  when  Nan  had  finished.  "But  to  make 
you  more  careful  in  future  and  to  remind  you  that 
the  rules  of  Lakeview  Hall  are  made  to  be  observed, 
not  ignored,  I  will  forbid  you  all  to  go  outside  the 


A  Dangerous  Plot  79 

grounds  for  three  full  days.  You  can  go  now  to 
your  recitations." 

The  girls  bowed  and  withdrew,  and  for  the  rest 
of  the  morning  they  were  unusually  quiet.  At  noon 
they  gathered  in  Laura's  room,  dropped  into  the 
nearest  chairs  at  hand,  and  looked  at  each  other  lu- 
gubriously. 

"Three  days  without  poking  our  noses  outside  the 
gates!"  mourned  Bess.  "How  are  we  ever  going 
to  stand  it?" 

"I  don't  care  much  for  that,"  commented  Rhoda. 
"But  I  hate  to  give  that  Linda  Riggs  anything  to 
gloat  over." 

"And  she  will,"  declared  Grace.  "She'll  make 
the  very  most  of  it,  you  can  be  sure." 

"She  will." 

"Oh,  well,  let  her  then,"  said  Laura,  recovering 
something  of  her  usual  spirits.  "Say,  girls,  did  you 
see  the  expression  on  Cupp's  face  when  we  opened 
the  door?" 

They  burst  into  a  merry  laugh  at  the  remem- 
brance, and  the  laugh  lessened  the  tension  and  did 
them  good. 

"Oh !"  gasped  Laura,  as  she  wiped  the  tears  from 
her  eyes,  "I  shall  remember  that  look  when  I'm  an 
old  woman." 

"I  suspect  Cupp  will  remember  the  occasion,  too, 
for  many  days  to  come,"  prophesied  Nan. 

"I  wish  there  had  been  a  glass  opposite  the  door, 


8o  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

so  that  she  could  have  seen  her  face,"  remarked  Bess, 
going  off  into  another  gale  of  laughter. 

"Come  on,"  said  Rhoda,  when  they  had  settled 
down.  "Let's  go  for  a  walk  on  the  campus  and  get 
some  fresh  air.  Thank  goodness,  we  can  do  that, 
anyway." 

"Oh,  dear,"  sighed  Nan,  as  they  went  downstairs. 
"No  coasting,  no  skating  for  three  days.  What  a 
fate!" 

"No  matter,"  comforted  Grace.  "The  feast  was 
worth  it.  The  memory  lingers." 

"It  does,"  agreed  Laura.  "I  can  taste  that  layer 
cake  yet.  But  come,  girls,  I  challenge  you  to  a 
race  around  the  campus.  One,  two,  three — go !" 

"Wait  until  I  make  certain  my  shoe  is  tight," 
cried  Grace. 

"And  wait  until  I  get  my  cap  fastened  on,"  added 
Nan. 

"No  primping  now!"  exclaimed  Laura.  "Every- 
body ready?" 

"What's  the  prize?"  questioned  Bess.  "I  can't 
run  well  unless  I  know  it's  worth  it." 

"You  get  the  hole  out  of  a  doughnut,"  said  Nan. 
"All  sugared  over,  too." 

"And  a  glass  of  frozen  ice-water,"  added  Grace. 

''This  is  all  the  way  around  the  campus,"  went  on 
Laura.  "No  cutting  corners,  remember.  You 
must  follow  the  trees  and  the  hedge.  One  cent  fine 
if  you  don't.  All  ready?  One — two — three,  go!" 


8i 

With  wild  shouts  and  much  laughter  the  race 
around  the  campus  was  on. 

Nan  won  "by  a  nose,"  as  Laura  rather  slangily 
put  it,  and  the  girls,  glowing  and  breathless,  looked 
like  anything  else  than  confessed  law-breakers  do- 
ing penance. 

The  sight  of  their  happy  faces  was  too  much  -for 
Linda,  who,  with  Cora,  was  passing  them,  drawing 
the  Gay  Girl  and  carrying  their  skates  over  their 
shoulders. 

"Some  people  try  mighty  hard  to  show  that  they're 
having  a  good  time,"  she  remarked  to  her  com- 
panion. 

"Blessings  brighten  as  they  take  their  flight,  as 
the  girl  said  when  she  couldn't  leave  the  campus," 
grinned  Cora  maliciously. 

"Well,"  countered  Nan,  "at  least  we're  not  doing 
penance  for  sneaking  in  the  dark  and  listening  at 
doors." 

The  flush  on  Linda's  face  showed  that  the  shot 
had  reached  the  mark. 

"You  think  you  know  a  lot,  don't  you?"  she 
mocked,  as  she  and  Cora  went  on. 

"How  I  detest  that  Nan  Sherwood,"  hissed  Linda. 
"I'll  get  square  with  her  some  day,  and  that  day  isn't 
so  far  off  either.  I  know  just  how  I'm  going  to 
fix  her." 

"Why  do  you  keep  on  being  so  mysterious  ?"  asked 
Cora  impatiently.  "You're  always  hinting  and  get- 


82  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

ting  my  curiosity  aroused  and  then  stopping  short. 
Go  on  and  tell  me  now." 

But  Linda  refused,  saying  that  she  wanted  to  be 
sure  first  that  her  plans  would  go  through  all  right. 

"When  I  do  spring  things,"  she  said,  "I'll  square 
up  all  accounts." 

Cora  sulked,  but  had  to  submit. 

Several  days  later,  as  Nan  and  Bess  were  study- 
ing in  their  room,  Bess  wrote  the  final  word  in  a 
French  translation  with  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"Didn't  you  say  once,  Nan,"  she  queried,  "that 
you  had  somewhere  a  book  of  model  French  conver- 
sations ?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Nan,  looking  up  from  her  work. 
"Do  you  want  it?" 

"I'd  like  it  ever  so  much,"  Bess  answered.  "I 
think  it  would  help  me  with  these  wretched  idioms 
that  puzzle  me  so.  Could  you  get  it  for  me  ?" 

"Surely,  Bess,"  assented  Nan,  with  obliging  readi- 
ness. "It's  down  in  my  trunk.  I'll  go  right  down 
to  the  basement  to-morrow  after  we  finish  our  Eng- 
lish recitation  at  twelve  o'clock  and  get  it  for  you." 

"That's  a  darling,  Nan,"  returned  Bess  grate- 
fully. "I  know  it  will  help  me  heaps." 

During  this  conversation  their  door  had  been 
standing  open,  and  Linda  Riggs,  who  was  passing 
(she  made  occasion  often  to  pass  Nan's  door),  heard 
every  word.  An  exultant  look  came  into  her  face, 
and  she  hurried  off  to  find  Cora.  She  told  her  eag- 


A  Dangerous  Plot  83 

erly  that  at  last  she  knew  just  how  and  when  she 
was  going  to  get  even  with  that  much-hated  Nan 
Sherwood. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  ?"  asked  Cora,  excited 
and  yet  a  little  fearful  of  any  scheme  that  Linda 
might  hatch. 

"I'm  going  to  give  her  the  scare  of  her  life,"  re- 
plied Linda.  "The  idea  came  to  me  the  other  day 
when  I  was  in  the  trunk  room  in  the  basement.  The 
steam  started  to  blow  off  with  such  a  whistle  close 
to  my  ears  that  it  made  me  almost  jump  out  of  my 
skin.  I  feel  sure  that  if  the  steam  can  only  be  held 
down  for  a  little  while  and  then  go  off  with  a  rush 
it  will  be  ten  times  louder.  If  that  could  be  made 
to  happen  just  as  Sherwood  was  going  past,  it  would 
scare  her  out  of  a  year's  growth.  She'd  think  her 
last  hour  had  come.  The  trouble  has  been  that  I 
never  knew  just  when  she'd  be  there.  But  I  know 
now.  I  just  heard  her  say.  She's  in  for  the  biggest 
fright  of  her  life.  How  does  it  strike  you?" 

"It  sounds  all  right,"  answered  Cora  slowly. 
"But  how  are  you  going  to  do  it?" 

"Easily,"  said  Linda,  with  a  confident  ring  in  her 
voice.  "After  the  janitor  has  fixed  up  the  fires  for 
the  day  to-morrow  morning  he'll  not  be  in  the  base- 
ment. I'll  slip  down  before  Sherwood  is  due  to  get 
there  and  tie  down  the  valve.  That'll  keep  the  steam 
confined  and  make  the  shriek  that  much  louder  when 
it's  let  loose.  I'll  hide  behind  the  woodpile,  and  just 


84  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

when  Sherwood  is  opposite  the  furnace,  I'll  cut  the 
string  and — voila" 

"All  very  fine,"  remarked  Cora  half-heartedly. 
"But  isn't  it  awfully  dangerous  ?  Have  you  thought 
what  might  happen  if  you  confine  the  steam?" 

"Of  course  I've  thought  of  that,  stupid,"  replied 
Linda,  nettled  at  Cora's  lack  of  enthusiasm.  "But 
the  steam  won't  be  held  back  long  enough  to  do  any 
harm." 

"I'm  not  so  sure  of  that,"  said  Cora,  who  felt  very 
uneasy  about  the  possible  results  of  her  friend's 
malicious  scheme. 

"Nonsense,"  retorted  Linda.  "I'll  take  all  the 
risk,  if  there  is  any.  But  there  won't  be.  I've 
planned  it  out  too  carefully  to  make  any  mistake 
about  it.  It's  too  good  a  chance  to  get  even  with 
Nan  Sherwood  to  let  it  go  by." 


CHAPTER  XII 

ALMOST   A   DISASTER 

"I  WOULDN'T  risk  it  if  I  were  you,  Linda,"  Cora 
persisted. 

"Oh,  what's  the  use  of  talking  to  you !"  exclaimed 
Linda  angrily.  "You  haven't  got  enough  sense  to 
understand.  I  wish  I  hadn't  told  you  a  word  about 
it,"  and  she  turned  her  back  upon  her  chum  and  re- 
fused to  say  another  word. 

Cora,  daring  for  once  to  be  angry  in  her  turn, 
left  the  room,  and  Linda  soon  forgot  her  in  gloating 
over  the  fright  she  was  plotting  for  Nan. 

The  next  morning  after  the  eleven  o'clock  recita- 
tion had  begun,  Linda  made  a  pretext  for  leaving 
the  room.  She  slipped  down  into  the  basement  and 
then  came  back  to  her  seat  to  await  developments. 

Meanwhile,  the  well-ordered  routine  of  Lakeview 
Hall  was  proceeding  as  usual.  The  hands  of  the 
great  clock  in  the  English  recitation  room  pointed 
to  a  quarter  of  twelve,  and  sidelong  looks  were  be- 
ing cast  at  it  in  pleasurable  anticipation  of  the  noon 
hour. 

Bang! 

85 


86  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Suddenly  the  crash  of  a  loud  explosion  filled 
every  one  with  terror.  The  building  trembled  to  its 
foundations.  Clouds  of  steam  poured  up  from  the 
basement. 

A  wild  cry  rent  the  air. 

"What's  that?" 

"Sounded  like  an  explosion  to  me." 

"Maybe  it's  an  earthquake." 

"Oh,  see  the  smoke." 

"The  school  must  be  on  fire !" 

"I'm  going  to  get  out  of  here !" 

"Oh,  yes,  let  me  out;  I  don't  want  to  be  burnt 
alive!" 

"Fire!    Fire!    The  Hall  is  on  fire !" 

In  an  instant  a  panic  was  on.  The  teachers  alone 
and  some  of  the  older  girls  kept  their  heads.  The 
younger  pupils  rushed  for  the  doors  in  a  frenzy  of 
fright. 

The  English  teacher  ran  to  one  of  the  doors  of 
her  recitation  room  and  held  it  fast.  But  there  was 
another  door  in  the  room,  and  toward  this  the  fright- 
ened girls  poured  in  a  mad  stampede.  Just  outside 
was  the  stairway  with  several  sharp  turns,  and  if 
the  fugitives  jammed  up  on  one  of  the  landings  it 
might  mean  maiming  or  death  for  some  of  them. 

Quick  as  a  flash,  Nan  Sherwood  acted.  She 
sprang  to  the  danger  door,  slammed  it  shut  and  put 
her  back  against  it.  The  tide  surged  up  against  her. 
The  younger  girls  clawed  at  her,  scratched  her 


Almost  a  Disaster  87 

hands,  did  all  in  their  power  to  force  her  away  from 
the  door.  But  she  held  her  place  with  desperation, 
though  her  clothes  were  torn  and  her  hands  were 
Jbleeding. 

Then  through  the  crowd  came  Linda  Riggs,  bowl- 
ing the  smaller  girls  out  of  her  way,  her  face  as  pale 
as  death  and  her  eyes  almost  bulging  out  of  her  head 
with  fright. 

"Let  me  get  out,  Nan  Sherwood !"  she  screamed, 
tearing  at  her  with  all  her  might.  "Let  me  out! 
Let  me  out !  I'll  die !  I  won't  stay  here  to  be  burned 
to  death!  Get  away  from  that  door!  Let  me  get 
out!" 

She  tore  at  Nan  and  struck  her  in  the  face.  She 
was  a  strong  girl,  and  doubly  strong  now  in  her 
rage  and  fright.  But  Nan  braced  herself  and  still 
held  the  door,  though  her  strength  was  fast  ebbing. 

Just  then  help  came.  Rhoda  Hammond  and  Bess 
Harley  caught  hold  of  Linda  and  pulled  her  away. 
They  thrust  her  into  a  seat  and  held  her  down,  while 
Laura  and  others  of  the  older  girls  pacified  and 
soothed  the  younger  ones. 

The  worst  was  over.  The  steam  had  thinned  out 
and  drifted  away.  The  pupils  slowly  went  back  to 
their  seats  at  the  command  of  the  teacher  and  sat 
there,  sobbing  and  moaning  and  weak  from  excite- 
ment. But  the  panic  had  been  quelled. 

Now  that  the  crisis  had  passed,  Nan  felt  her 
strength  leaving  her,  and  she  had  scarcely  enough 


88  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

left  to  get  back  to  her  seat.  She  almost  fell  into  it 
when  at  last  she  reached  it. 

Just  then,  Dr.  Prescott,  who  from  the  moment 
of  the  first  alarm  had  been  in  other  parts  of  the 
building,  helping  to  quell  the  excitement,  entered  the 
room.  She  took  her  stand  beside  the  teacher  and 
held  with  her  a  brief  conversation  in  which  she 
learned  what  had  occurred  in  the  room.  Then  she 
spoke  a  few  quiet  words  of  assurance,  telling  the 
girls  that  there  had  not  been,  and  was  not  now,  any 
danger  and  warmly  commending  the  bravery  and 
self-control  of  the  teacher  and  the  older  girls.  She 
then  dismissed  them. 

A  refreshing  half-hour  in  their  rooms  did  the 
girls  a  world  of  good,  and  when  the  lunch  gong 
sounded  they  gathered  about  the  table  in  something 
like  their  normal  spirits.  It  is  true  that  none  ate 
very  much,  but  tongues  flew  fast  in  comment  and 
conjecture. 

"How  could  it  have  happened?"  was  the  many- 
times-repeated  question.  Was  it  the  janitor's  fault? 
He  must  have  forgotten  to  turn  off  the  drafts  per- 
haps, and  the  accumulated  gas  had  exploded. 

"Probably  something  was  wrong  with  the  safety 
valve,"  conjectured  Rhoda,  building  better  than  she 
knew. 

"Well,"  said  Nan,  as  at  last  they  rose  from  the 
table,  "I  hope  they'll  find  out  what  did  cause  it  so 
that  it  will  never  happen  again." 


Almost  a  Disaster  89 

Naturally,  there  were  no  more  lessons  that  after- 
noon. The  girls  gathered  in  groups  in  the  corri- 
dors or  in  each  others'  rooms  excitedly  discussing 
the  stirring  events  of  the  morning. 

Nan  lay  upon  the  couch  in  her  room,  resting  after 
her  exertions,  when  Grace,  who  had  been  telephon- 
ing to  Walter,  came  in  bursting  with  news. 

"What  do  you  think  I  heard  downstairs!"  she 
cried  before  she  was  fairly  in  the  room.  "Doctor 
Beulah  thinks  that  it  wasn't  an  accident  at  all,  but 
that  the  whole  thing  was  caused  by  some  one  tam- 
pering with  the  boiler." 

The  girls  all  spoke  at  once. 

"Oh,  that  couldn't  be!" 

"Who'd  have  any  object  in  doing  a  thing  that 
might  have  cost  lives  ?" 

"Isn't  it  awful!" 

"Anyway,"  Grace  went  on  as  soon  as  they  gave  her 
a  chance  to  speak,  "they  say  that  a  heavy  cord  had 
been  tied  to  the  valve  to  keep  it  down  and  the  broken 
ends  of  the  cord  were  found  hanging  from  it." 

The  girls  were  stupefied  with  astonishment. 

Suddenly  Laura  started  up  and  walked  excitedly 
about  the  room. 

"There's  this  much  about  it !"  she  exclaimed.  "If 
some  one  did  do  it  purposely,  Doctor  Beulah  will 
soon  find  out  when  it  was  done,  and  why  it  was 
done — and  who  did  it,  too,"  she  added  significantly. 

Laura  knew  by  the  expression  on  all  the  faces 


90  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

that  the  same  thought  that  had  been  in  her  mind 
when  she  spoke  those  last  words  was  in  the  minds 
of  the  other  girls,  too. 

If  two  very  depressed  and  frightened  girls  in  an- 
other room  could  have  heard  them,  their  spirits 
would  have  sunk  still  lower. 

"What  did  I  tell  you!"  cried  Cora  wildly.  "I 
begged  you  not  to  do  it.  And  what  did  you  make 
by  it?  Disgraced  yourself  and  only  made  Nan  Sher- 
wood more  popular  than  ever." 

For  once,  Linda  was  silent.  Cora  made  the  most 
of  her  chance  to  get  back  at  Linda  for  her  high- 
handed treatment  of  her.  She  went  on  mercilessly : 

"I  was  so  ashamed  of  you,"  she  said.  "You 
macle  such  a  show  of  yourself.  I  didn't  think  you 
could  be  such  a  coward." 

"Well,"  whined  Linda,  "I  had  more  to  live  for, 
with  all  my  money,  than  they  had." 

"That  sounds  like  you,"  gibed  Cora  disgustedly. 
"Well,  I  pity  you  if  Doctor  Beulah  finds  out  you  did 
it.  And  she  will,  you  can  just  depend  on  that." 

In  the  meantime  Bess,  with  some  other  girls,  vis- 
ited the  basement  to  look  at  the  wreckage.  When 
she  came  back  she  had  a  queer  look  on  her  face. 
She  called  Nan  to  one  side. 

"See  what  I  found,"  she  said  and  held  out  a  small 
handkerchief  with  a  daisy  worked  in  one  corner. 
"It  was  in  the  basement,  close  to  the  wrecked  boiler." 

Nan  looked  at  the  bit  of  linen  and  started.     She 


Almost  a  Disaster  91 

remembered  having  seen  Linda  Riggs  with  such  a 
handkerchief  more  than  once. 

"But  Linda  may  have  dropped  it  down  there  since 
the  explosion,"  she  said,  quickly. 

"I  guess  not !"  drawled  Bess.  "This  looks  like  a 
bit  of  real  evidence  to  me." 

"Oh,  Bess — don't  say  anything — at  least  not  till 
you  are  sure." 

"I  won't.    But  I'll  remember  it." 

At  this  moment  the  gong  sounded  a  summons  to 
the  main  assembly  hall,  a  summons  which  the  girls 
obeyed  with  alacrity. 

Knowing  as  they  did  that  an  examination  of  the 
steam  plant  had  been  going  on,  and  their  interest 
and  curiosity  quickened  by  the  rumors  they  had 
heard,  it  was  not  long  before  every  seat  was  filled 
and  all  eyes  turned  expectantly  on  Dr.  Prescott. 
She  sat  there,  rather  pale,  but  dignified  and  well 
poised. 

"What  is  she  going  to  say  ?"  each  girl  asked  her- 
self. The  tension  was  at  its  height,  the  silence  could 
almost  be  felt,  when  Dr.  Prescott  began  to  speak. 

"A  thorough  examination  has  shown  us,"  she  be- 
gan, "that  the  steam  plant  is  very  badly  damaged, 
though  we  hope  that  it  may  be  possible  to  repair  it 
in  a  short  time.  But  the  investigation,"  she  went 
on,  "has  revealed  the  almost  unbelievable  fact  that 
there  was  no  accident,  but  a  deliberate  plan  or  trick. 
Who  conceived  it  or  why,  is  not  yet  known,  but  we 


92  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

will  spare  no  effort  to  find  the  guilty  party  and  bring 
him  or  her  to  punishment.  I  am  very  thankful  that 
the  injury  was  confined  to  the  steam  plant  and  that 
no  one'  was  hurt,  as  might  easily  have  been  the  case. 

"I  am  very  proud  of  the  presence  of  mind  and 
bravery  shown  by  the  teachers  and  many  of  the 
students.  Many  of  the  younger  girls  and  all  the 
older  ones,  with  one  shameful  exception" — she 
paused,  and  all  eyes  were  turned  on  Linda,  who  sat 
cowering  in  her  seat — "showed  remarkable  self-pos- 
session, and  I  take  this  opportunity  to  thank  them 
all.  I  hesitate  to  mention  any  names,  but  I  must 
single  out  Nan  Sherwood,  who,  by  her  prompt  ac- 
tion and  cool  courage,  contributed  in  so  large  a 
measure  to  avert  the  dreadful  consequences  of  a 
panic." 

With  these  words  she  dismissed  them. 

As  the  girls  left  the  assembly  hall  they  broke  out 
into  a  Babel  of  excited  comment.  Dr.  Prescott, 
crossing  the  hall  on  the  way  to  her  office,  placed  her 
arm  over  Nan's  shoulders  and  thanked  her  person- 
ally. Nan's  heart  swelled  at  the  earnest  words  of 
praise,  for  Dr.  Prescott's  good  opinion  was  highly 
valued. 

"Of  course,"  the  doctor  added  with  a  whimsical 
smile,  "the  three-day  sentence  is  remitted  for  you 
and  your  friends." 

She  passed  on. 

"Isn't  she  just  splendid!"  exclaimed  Grace. 


Almost  a  Disaster  93, 

"And  how  nicely  she  seemed  to  manage  the  whole 
situation,"  remarked  Rhoda. 

"She's  a  peach !"  declared  Laura,  slangily. 

"I  should  say  she  is !  And  so  is  somebody  else  I 
know,"  agreed  Bess,  as  she  drew  Nan's  arm  through 
hers. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   WILY   STRANGER 

"WHAT  is  this  anyway?"  asked  Bess.  "Green- 
land or  the  North  Pole?" 

"Well,  it's  Siberia  at  the  very  least,"  laughed 
Nan,  as,  wrapped  in  outdoor  coats  and  furs,  the 
girls  entered  the  recitation  room  the  second  morn- 
ing after  the  explosion. 

School  without  heat  in  weather  that  came  close  to 
the  zero  mark  was  not  very  enticing,  and  it  was 
glad  news  to  all  the  girls  when  it  was  announced 
that,  owing  to  the  injury  to  the  steam  plant,  which 
was  greater  than  was  at  first  thought,  the  school 
term  would  end  nearly  a  week  ahead  of  time  pend- 
ing extensive  repairs.  Those  who  were  going  home 
were  directed  to  begin  to  pack  at  once,  and  those 
who  were  not  would  be  provided  with  quarters  in 
the  village. 

After  hearing  this  announcement  the  girls  flew 
upstairs  on  winged  feet. 

"An  extra  week  at  home !  What  happiness !"  ex- 
claimed Bess,  whirling  Nan  around  until  they  both 
dropped  breathless  on  the  window  seat. 

94 


The  Wily  Stranger  95- 

"And  think  of  Grace  with  another  week  at  Palm 
Beach  to  look  forward  to !"  cried  Nan. 

"What  luck  for  her!"  said  Bess  enviously,  as  she 
began  taking  her  things  from  the  dresser  drawer. 

Soon  the  last  trunk  was  locked  and  strapped  and 
they  were  ready  to  depart. 

"Let's  run  to  town  for  a  last  visit  to  Mrs.  Brag- 
ley,"  proposed  Nan. 

Bess  gladly  acquiesced,  and  the  two  girls  were 
off.  They  were  delighted  to  find  Mrs.  Bragley  sit- 
ting up  and  able  to  get  around  a  little  with  a  cane. 
She  greeted  them  gratefully  and  was  profuse  in  her 
thanks  for  all  the  care  they  had  shown  her.  And 
she  was  intensely  interested  in  their  story  of  the 
explosion  at  the  school. 

"And  now,"  said  Nan,  after  they  had  chatted  for 
a  while,  "how  about  those  papers?  We  are  going 
home  sooner  than  we  thought,  and  if  you  will  give 
them  to  me  I  will  show  them  to  Grace  Mason's 
father.  He  is  a  very  able  lawyer  and  will  get  to  the 
bottom  of  this  orange  grove  if  any  one  can." 

"That  will  be  fine,"  was  the  gratified  reply.  "The 
papers  are  right  here.  I  have  been  looking  them 
over.  Take  them  if  you  wish,  dear." 

Mrs.  Bragley  took  them  from  the  table  and  handed 
them  to  Nan,  and  the  latter  tucked  them  safely  away 
in  her  bag. 

"I  may  be  carrying  a  fortune  away  in  this  bag," 


96  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

she  said  jokingly,  as  she  snapped  the  catch  and  rose 
to  go. 

"I'm  afraid  they're  not  worth  the  paper  they're 
printed  on,"  said  the  woman  dubiously. 

"Hope  on,  hope  ever,"  quoted  Bess  gaily,  as,  with 
a  last  wave  of  the  hand,  she  followed  Nan  out  of 
the  door. 

They  were  almost  to  the  school  when  Bess  sud^ 
denly  asked  : 

"Do  you  know  that  man,  Nan?  He  looks  as 
though  he  were  going  to  speak  to  us." 

Nan  looked  up  just  as  a  tall  thin  man  approached 
them.  He  lifted  his  hat  and  said : 

"I  beg  pardon,  young  ladies,  but  could  you  in- 
form me  where  the  Widow  Bragley  lives?" 

Nan  pointed  out  the  cottage  and  the  man  thanked 
her  and  passed  on. 

"What  a  peculiar  way  he  had  of  talking,"  said 
Bess,  as  they  resumed  their  walk. 

"I  noticed  that  he  talked  like  a  Southerner,"  re- 
plied Nan.  "I  wonder  what  business  he  can  have 
with  Mrs.  Bragley." 

"Hard  to  tell,"  said  Bess.  "I  only  hope  it  isn't  a 
bill  collector  to  bother  the  poor  thing."  And  then 
the  schoolgirls  passed  on  their  way. 

The  stranger  soon  reached  the  cottage  of  Mrs. 
Bragley.  He  scanned  it  carefully  and  noted  its 
poverty.  A  contented  smile  stole  over  his  face  as 
he  said  to  himself : 


The  Wily  Stranger  97 

"I  imagine  there  won't  be  any  trouble  in  getting 
what  I  came  for.  A  little  money  here  will  go  a 
long  way." 

He  knocked  on  the  door  and  Mrs.  Ellis  opened  it. 

"Does  Mrs.  Sarah  Bragley  live  here?"  the 
stranger  inquired  with  an  ingratiating  smile,  which, 
however,  sat  rather  badly  on  his  somewhat  sinister 
countenance. 

"Yes,"  replied  Mrs.  Ellis.  "But  she's  not  very 
well  and  has  gone  to  lie  down.  Is  it  anything  I  can 
do  for  you?" 

"No,  thank  you,"  replied  the  stranger.  "My  er- 
rand with  her  is  a  personal  one.  I've  come  all  the 
way  from  the  South  to  see  her  on  a  matter  of  pri- 
vate business." 

"If  that's  the  case,  I  think  she'll  see  you,"  replied 
the  nurse,  ushering  him  in  and  giving  him  a  seat. 

She  excused  herself  and  went  into  the  bedroom, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  Mrs.  Bragley  appeared,  a 
little  curious  and  considerably  flustered  by  the  an- 
nouncement of  a  visitor  from  such  a  distance. 

"My  name  is  Thompson,"  the  visitor  said,  as  he 
rose  and  bowed.  "I  came  from  Florida  to  see  you 
on  a  business  matter.  I'm  sorry  to  learn  that  you 
are  not  well,  and  I'd  put  the  matter  off,  only  that 
I  have  arrangements  made  to  get  back  home  as  soon 
as  possible." 

"From  Florida?"  repeated  the  old  woman.  "It 
can't  be  that  you've  come  to  see  me  about  that  orange 


98  Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

grove  property  there  that  my  husband  put  all  our 
money  into  before  he  died?" 

"If  you  refer  to  the  property  at  Sunny  Slopes," 
returned  the  visitor,  "you  are  right.  It  is  just  that 
that  I  came  to  see  you  about." 

"Laws  me !"  ejaculated  the  widow  in  some  excite- 
ment "And  here  it  was  only  a  little  while  ago  I 
was  saying  that  I  never  expected  to  hear  from  it. 
I  wrote  and  wrote  and  never  heard  a  word  from  it. 
I  began  to  think,"  she  went  on  a  little  apologetically, 
"that  there  might  be  some  fraud  or  something  of 
that  kind  about  it." 

"Oh,  nothing  like  that,"  the  visitor  said  impres- 
sively. "Mr.  Pacomb  is  the  soul  of  honor.  I  have 
never  known  him  to  do  anything  that  wasn't  straight 
and  aboveboard." 

"I'm  very  glad  to  hear  that,"  said  the  simple- 
hearted  old  woman.  "He  wrote  such  beautiful  let- 
ters to  us  when  he  was  asking  us  to  put  our  money 
into  the  property  that  I  thought  he  must  be  a  nice 
man.  I'm  very  sorry  that  I  ever  had  an  unkind 
thought  about  him.  I'm  so  glad  to  know  that  things 
are  all  right.  I  need  the  money  so  badly.  And  my 
poor  husband  always  thought  there  would  be  a  whole 
lot  of  money  come  from  it." 

The  stranger  looked  a  little  embarrassed. 

"Quite  right,  quite  right,"  he  said.  "There  ought 
to  have  been  a  big  profit  from  it.  Everybody 
thought  so,  and  nobody  felt  more  sure  of  it  than 


The  Wily  Stranger  99 

Mr.  Pacomb  himself.  He  thought  so  well  of  it  that 
he  put  every  cent  of  his  own  money  into  it." 

"Then  he's  made  a  fortune  in  it,  too!"  exclaimed 
the  old  woman,  beaming  on  her  visitor. 

The  stranger  coughed. 

"No,"  he  said,  "that's  the  unfortunate  thing  about 
it.  You  see,  Mrs.  Bragley,  the  thing  didn't  turn  out 
as  we  had  hoped  and  expected.  The  land  was  right 
in  the  orange  belt,  and  we  had  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  it  would  yield  big  results.  But  for  some 
reason  or  other  it  didn't.  The  ground  couldn't  have 
been  adapted  to  it.  You  never  can  tell  about  orange 
groves." 

The  poor  woman's  face  fell. 

"Then,"  she  said  quaveringly,  "all  my  money  is 
gone !" 

"Oh,  no,  not  all,"  the  stranger  hastened  to  say. 
"There  is  still  a  little  money  for  you,  if  you  want  to 
sell  what  interest  you  have  in  the  property.  Of 
course  the  property  has  proved  practically  worthless. 
But  the  man  who  has  a  country  estate  bordering  on 
the  property  is  willing  to  pay  the  company  a  small 
sum  just  to  round  out  his  estate,  and  your  interest 
in  it  we  calculate  would  be  about  two  hundred  dol- 
lars. In  fact,"  he  went  on  with  a  burst  of  gener- 
osity, and  at  the  same  time  taking  a  roll  of  bills  from 
his  pocket,  "Mr.  Pacomb  would  be  willing  to  give 
you  two  hundred  dollars  to  settle  the  matter  up  at 
once." 


ioo         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

He  began  to  count  out  the  bills,  as  if  the  matter 
had  been  agreed  upon.  It  was  a  long  time  since 
Mrs.  Bragley  had  seen  so  much  money,  and  in  her 
straightened  circumstances  two  hundred  dollars 
seemed  like  a  fortune.  The  visitor  had  counted  on 
the  influence  exerted  by  the  sight  of  the  money,  and 
he  was  not  disappointed. 

"Well,"  said  Mrs.  Bragley,  "I  suppose  it's  the 
best  thing  I  can  do,  since  you  say  that  the  land  isn't 
any  good  for  oranges." 

"We'll  consider  it  settled  then,"  the  man  ob- 
served, trying  to  conceal  his  satisfaction.  "Now  if 
you'll  get  me  the  papers  I'll  hand  you  the  money." 

A  look  of  dismay  came  into  the  woman's  face. 

"The — the  papers!"  she  stammered.  "Why,  I 
haven't  got  them !" 

"You  haven't  got  them?"  the  man  snapped  in 
wonder.  "Where  are  they  then?" 

"I  gave  them  to  a  young  lady  not  more  than  an 
hour  ago,"  replied  Mrs.  Bragley.  "She  had  just 
gone  a  little  before  you  came." 

"Why  did  you  give  them  to  her?"  the  man  asked. 

"Some  friends  of  hers  are  going  to  Florida  and 
they  were  going  to  look  up  the  matter,"  replied  the 
old  lady.  "It  seems  that  the  father  of  one  of  the 
girls  is  a  lawyer  and " 

"A  lawyer!"  interrupted  the  man,  a  look  of  fear 
coming  into  his  face.  Then  by  a  great  effort  he  re- 
gained his  self-control. 


The  Wily  Stranger  101 

"Well,  Mrs.  Bragley,"  he  said,  "it's  for  you  to 
do  what  you  choose  in  this  matter.  It's  too  bad  for 
you  to  lose  this  two  hundred  dollars  when  you  might 
just  as  well  have  it  as  not.  Suppose  I  see  this  young 
lady  and  tell  her  that  you  want  the  papers  back." 

"I  wish  you  would,"  replied  the  old  lady.  Then 
she  gave  the  man  Nan's  name  and  told  him  where 
she  thought  he  could  find  her.  He  scribbled  the 
name  and  address  in  a  notebook,  and  a  little  later 
hurried  away. 

"If  I  don't  find  that  Nan  Sherwood  and  get  the 
papers  away  from  her  my  name  isn't  Jacob  Pacomb," 
he  muttered  to  himself. 

With  all  speed  he  hurried  to  the  Hall,  only  to 
learn  that  Nan  had  left  for  the  depot.  Then  he 
rushed  to  the  station. 

"Sorry,  but  the  train  left  quarter  of  an  hour  ago," 
declared  the  station  master  in  reply  to  his  question. 
"There  won't  be  another  train  for  three  hours." 

On  gaining  this  information  the  face  of  Jacob 
Pacomb  became  a  study.  Savagely  he  bit  off  the  end 
of  a  cigar,  lit  it,  and  began  to  puff  away  furiously. 

"That  young  woman  from  the  school  may  be  a 
sharp  one,"  he  murmured  as  he  strode  up  and  down 
the  little  depot  platform.  "I'll  have  to  use  either 
force  or  diplomacy  in  getting  those  papers  from  her. 
I  mustn't  let  her  think  they  are  valuable.  I  won- 
der what  I  can  do  next?  It's  too  bad  I  promised 
to  go  to  Chicago  to  attend  that  sale.  But  I  can't 


IO2         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

afford  to  miss  that."  He  mused  for  a  moment. 
"Wonder  if  I  couldn't  get  Davis  and  Jensen  to  do 
this  job  for  me?  They  are  hanging  around  doing 
nothing  and  would  do  almost  anything  for  the  price 
of  a  meal.  Yes,  I'll  see  Davis  and  Jensen  and  set 
them  on  the  girl's  track." 

In  the  meantime  Nan  and  Bess  were  being  whirled 
at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an  hour  toward  the  home 
where  love  and  open  arms  awaited  them. 

Their  parents  had,  of  course,  been  apprised  of 
their  coming,  and  the  welcome  was  the  royal  one 
that  always  greeted  them  after  their  long  absences 
from  home.  Nothing  was  too  good  for  them. 

Several  days  passed  quickly,  and  then  came  great 
news.  The  first  item  was  a  notification  from  Dr. 
Prescott  that  since  the  steam  plant  had  required  far 
more  extensive  repairs  than  at  first  had  seemed 
necessary,  the  reopening  would  be  deferred  for  sev- 
eral weeks  beyond  the  usual  time.  And  following 
this  closely  came  a  letter  to  each  of  the  girls  from 
Grace  Mason.  They  must  go  with  her  to  Palm 
Beach.  The  "must"  was  underscored.  She  would 
take  no  denial.  They  would  have  such  a  perfectly 
gorgeous  time  if  they  could  only  come  along. 
Please,  please,  please. f  They  simply  must,  and  that 
was  all  there  was  about  it. 

Nan  and  Bess  were  filled  with  delight  and  excite- 
ment. But  they  had  to  reckon  with  their  parents, 
who  were  reluctant  to  spare  their  girls  after  hav- 


The  Wily  Stranger  103 

ing  them  with  them  for  so  short  a  time.  But  the 
girls  coaxed  and  wheedled,  as  girls  -will,  and  the 
parents  finally  yielded,  as  parents  will.  In  the  next 
few  days  the  matter  was  settled  and  hurried  prepa- 
rations were  begun. 

More  than  once  they  had  to  pinch  themselves  to 
make  sure  they  were  not  dreaming.  Palm  Beach! 
Land  of  summer,  land  of  flowers,  land  of  beauty! 
And  they — Nan  Sherwood  and  Bess  Harley — were 
actually  going  to  dwell  for  a  time  in  that  earthly 
Paradise ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

GREAT    EXPECTATIONS 

NAN  was  really  going  to  Palm  Beach !  She  could 
scarcely  realize  her  good  fortune. 

Grace  had  written  that  some  cousins  who  were  to 
go  had  disappointed  them,  so  good  accommodations 
were  assured  to  Nan  and  Bess  when  they  reached 
Palm  Beach. 

Nan  was  up  in  her  bedroom  in  the  evening  look- 
ing dreamily  out  of  the  window  and  imagining  she 
was  already  at  the  famous  winter  resort  when  she 
gave  a  start. 

Two  men  were  slinking  around,  behind  some  trees 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street!  From  time  to 
time  they  gazed  at  the  house  as  if  looking  for  some- 
body. 

"The  same  men!    What  can  it  mean?" 

Nan  breathed  the  words  to  herself.  She  had  seen 
these  men  before  since  coming  home  from  school. 
They  had  leered  at  her  when  on  an  errand  to  the 
drugstore,  and  one  of  them  had  acted  as  if  he 
wanted  to  speak  to  her  while  she  was  at  the  depot 
asking  for  a  timetable.  But  a  man  friend  had  come 

104 


Great  Expectations  105 

up  to  greet  her  and  the  stranger  had  slunk  away. 

Nan's  first  impulse  was  to  call  her  father  and 
mother.  But  then  she  hesitated.  Why  worry  her 
parents,  and  especially  her  mother,  when,  after  all, 
it  might  mean  little  or  nothing? 

She  looked  again.  Some  men  had  come  up  the 
street.  At  sight  of  them  the  two  slinking  ones 
shrank  back  and  presently  hurried  away. 

"I  hope  I  never  see  them  again,"  said  the  girl  to 
herself.  But  this  wish  was  not  to  be  gratified. 

Yet  the  next  day  Nan  gave  the  strange  men 
hardly  a  thought.  There  were  so  many  things  to  be 
done  in  preparation  for  the  great  trip. 

"It's  not  like  going  out  to  Rose  Ranch,  where  any 
old  thing  was  good  enough  to  wear,"  Nan  confided 
to  Bess.  "We've  got  to  look  our  best,  on  Grace's 
account  as  well  as  our  own." 

"And  Walter's,"  added  Bess,  and  then  Nan 
promptly  threw  a  book  at  her  chum. 

A  day  more,  and  then  came  the  all-important  time 
for  departure. 

"Oh,  just  to  think  of  it!  We  are  really  and 
truly  going!" 

Nan  was  seated  on  an  overturned  suitcase  on  the 
porch  of  the  little  "dwelling  in  amity."  Her  hands 
were  clasped  tightly  in  front  of  her  to  keep  her 
from  jumping  up  and  running  off  madly  somewhere, 
anywhere — just  to  relieve  her  tremendous  excite- 
ment. 


io6         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Never  in  her  life  had  it  seemed  so  hard  to  keep 
still.  Her  trunk  had  gone  to  the  station,  her  bag 
was  packed,  and  everything  was  ready  to  catch  the 
ten-o'clock  train  for  New  York.  From  there  she 
and  Bess  were  to  take  the  boat,  which  was  to  carry 
them  swiftly  down  the  coast  to  Jacksonville,  the 
gateway  to  Florida. 

Everything  was  in  readiness  that  is  save  Momsey. 
All  that  separated  her  from  that  desirable  state  was 
one  small  and  pretty  fur  hat  which  Momsey  was  just 
now  fitting  on  in  front  of  the  mirror  in  the  little 
sitting-room. 

But  it  did  take  a  long  time  just  to  put  on  one 
hat,  thought  Nan  with  a  sigh.  Momsey  never  used 
to  be  so  slow.  Then,  unable  to  bear  it  a  moment 
longer,  she  jumped  to  her  feet  and  peeped  in  at  the 
door  of  the  little  "dwelling  in  amity." 

What  she  saw  made  her  pause,  a  smothered  excla- 
mation on  her  lips,  her  eyes  dancing.  For  Papa 
Sherwood  was  there  with  Momsey  and  he  was  look- 
ing at  her  with  as  much  admiration  in  his  eyes  as 
though  they  had  been  married  only  one  year,  instead 
of — oh,  Nan  couldn't  remember  how  many ! 

"That  trip  overseas  was  just  what  you  needed  to 
make  a  girl  of  you  again,  Momsey,"  Papa  Sher- 
wood was  saying  in  a  tone  that  matched  his  look. 
"You  might  be  our  Nan's  older  sister.  And  isn't 
that  a  new  hat?" 

Momsey  had  started  to  make  him  a  demure  curt- 


Great  Expectations  107 

sey  when  Nan's  clear  laugh  interrupted  the  tete-a- 
tete. 

''Excuse  me/'  she  said,  her  eyes  dancing.  "Far 
be  it  from  me  to  be  in  the  way  of  anything — and, 
Momsey,  you  do  look  wonderful  in  that  hat — but 
you  know  that  train  won't  wait  all  day.  Oh,  Mom- 
sey !  Papa  Sherwood !" — she  waltzed  in  upon  them 
and  hugged  them  gaily — "isn't  it  perfectly,  wonder- 
fully gorgeous  ?" 

"What  now,  honey?"  asked  Momsey,  as  she  re- 
arranged the  pretty  hat  which  Nan  had  pushed  down 
unbecomingly  over  one  eye. 

"What  now?"  repeated  Nan  breathlessly.  "What 
now?  Why,  Florida — Jacksonville — Palm  Beach! 
No,  don't  look  at  me  as  though  I  had  gone  crazy. 
I'm  only  raving.  Come  on,  come  on,  you  slow 
pokes."  She  half  pushed  her  laughing  parents  to- 
ward the  door.  "You  can  carry  the  suitcase,  Papa 
Sherwood,  and  I'll  carry  the  hat  box.  There's  only 
one  other  bundle,  and  I'll  take  that  one  and  Momsey 
can  bring  up  the  rear  with  the  lunch.  I  wonder 
\vhat  Bess  will  say  when  she  sees  the  lunch,"  she 
chuckled,  as  her  father  carefully  locked  the  door  of 
the  little  house  and  put  the  key  in  his  pocket. 

"Well,  I  think  I  know  what  she  will  say  when 
she  tastes  it,"  said  her  father  as  all  three  started 
down  the  street  toward  the  more  pretentious  house 
where  Bess  lived.  "For  Momsey  put  up  the  lunch 
with  her  own  hands — and  I  saw  what  went  into  it." 


1 08         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Yes,  and  you  might  tell  her,  honey,"  added  Mrs. 
Sherwood,  with  a  soft  laugh,  "what  hard  work  I 
had  to  keep  you  from  eating  all  the  nuts  from  the 
brown  bread  sandwiches." 

"Oh,  Momsey,  don't,"  sighed  Nan.  "You  will 
make  me  hungry  again,  and  I  have  just  had  break- 
fast. See!  There's  Bess.  Goodness,  doesn't  she 
look  pretty?" 

Both  Momsey  and  Papa  Sherwood  had  to  admit 
that  Bess  was  very  pretty  indeed  in  the  bright  win- 
ter sunlight,  but  each  privately  thought  that  their 
Nan,  with  her  sparkling  brown  eyes  and  flushed 
cheeks,  was,  in  her  own  way,  even  prettier  than 
Bess. 

"Hello,  you  folks!"  called  Bess  as  she  reached 
them,  out  of  breath  from  exercise  and  excitement. 
"I  thought  you  were  never  coming.  Goodness !  what 
are  you  carrying  two  grips  for  ?  One  is  enough  for 
me."  Then,  without  waiting  for  a  reply,  she  raced 
on  to  another  question.  "And  that  box !  What's  in 
it,  Nan?"  She  gazed  suspiciously  at  Nan's  mis- 
chievous face.  "It  looks  like  a  lunch  box.  It  never 
is!" 

"Yes,  it  ever  is,"  mimicked  Nan,  in  exactly  Bess's 
tone,  adding  with  a  laugh:  "And  Papa  Sherwood 
very  nearly  ate  all  the  nuts  from  the  sandwiches." 

"Nan "  began  Mrs.  Sherwood  reproachfully; 

but  at  that  moment  Mrs.  Harley  appeared  in  the 
doorway  and  the  reproaches  were  forgotten. 


Great  Expectations  109 

Momsey  would  not  go  inside,  as  the  minutes  to 
train  time  were  getting  very  few,  so  after  a  short 
disappearance  Mrs.  Harley  joined  them  and  they 
started  toward  the  station  together.  The  two  girls, 
Nan  and  Bess,  lead  the  way,  swinging  their  bags  and 
talking  excitedly. 

"I'm  almost  scared  to  death,"  confided  Bess,  as 
they  turned  the  corner  that  led  down  to  the  station 
and  the  train  that  was  to  bear  them  so  soon  on  their 
wonderful  journey. 

"Scared  ?"  asked  Nan,  her  eyes  big  with  wonder. 
"What  are  you  scared  about?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  suppose  I  should  call  it  exactly 
scared,"  retracted  Bess.  "Just  sort  of  excited  and 
— and — nervous.  Going  all  alone  you  know — and 
everything." 

"This  isn't  the  first  time  we  have  traveled  alone," 
said  Nan  practically.  "And  we  have  always  come 
out  'right  side  up  with  care.' ' 

"Oh,  Nan,  you  are  so  calm,"  sighed  Bess  in 
exasperation.  "Won't  anything  ever  get  you  ex- 
cited?" 

"Excited,"  repeated  Nan,  gazing  in  amazement 
at  her  chum.  "I'm  so  excited  this  very  minute  that 
I'm  all  thrilly  inside." 

"If  you  are,"  said  Bess,  eyeing  her  judicially, 
"nobody  would  ever  know  it.  That's  just  the  trouble 
with  you,"  she  added  plaintively,  "you  are  always 
hiding  things  and  having  secrets  from  me  when  you 


no         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

know  very  well  that  no  one  ought  ever  to  have  a 
secret  from  her  chum." 

Nan  put  an  arm  about  the  waist  of  the  girl  and 
laughed. 

"You  can't  quarrel  with  me,  especially  this  morn- 
ing, Bess,"  she  said,  adding  soothingly:  "Besides, 
I  haven't  had  a  secret  from  you  in — oh,  ever  so 
long.  Not  since  Beautiful  Beulah." 

For  Bess  had  been  very  much  put  out  indeed  about 
Nan's  secret  possession  of  Beautiful  Beulah,  the 
big  doll  that  had  formerly  helped  Nan  over  many 
difficulties. 

"I  know,"  said  Bess,  in  answer  to  Nan's  declara- 
tion. "But  that  is  just  the  reason  why  I  expect 
you  to  start  something.  You  have  been  'too  good  to 
be  true.' " 

"Well,  you  are  a  silly,"  said  Nan  absently,  as  her 
eyes  wandered  down  the  double  line  of  shining  rails 
to  the  spot  where  they  disappeared  in  the  distance. 
"I  wonder  if  that  mean  old  train  is  going  to  be  late 
after  all." 

"No,  there  it  is !  There  it  is,  Nan !"  cried  Bess, 
suddenly  dancing  wildly  up  and  down  the  platform. 
"Oh,  tell  the  folks  to  hurry.  Mother  has  my  hat 
box.  I  never,  never  could  go  to  Palm  Beach  with- 
out that  hat."  And  she  ran  back  toward  the  older 
folks,  waving  her  bag  at  them  frantically  while  Nan 
looked  after  her  laughingly. 

"I  wonder  what  Bess  would  do,"  she  thought, 


Great  Expectations  in 

without  the  slightest  trace  of  conceit,  "if  she  didn't 
have  me  to  anchor  her  down  all  the  time." 

The  train  steamed  into  the  station  just  as  Mom- 
sey  and  Papa  Sherwood  and  Mrs.  Harley,  with  the 
excited  Elizabeth  in  the  lead,  rushed  upon  the  plat- 
form. 

Nan  was  very  much  surprised  to  find  that  though 
she  had  become  used  to  rather  frequent  partings 
with  Momsey  and  Papa  Sherwood,  this  one  was  not 
one  bit  easier  than  the  others  had  been. 

She  hugged  Papa  Sherwood,  kissed  Momsey  a 
dozen  times,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Bess  was  tug- 
ging at  her  elbow,  and  finally  stumbled  some  way 
up  the  steps  and  into  the  car. 

"Goodness !  Anybody  would  think  you  were  go- 
ing away  to  stay  forever,"  gasped  Bess,  as  she  tried 
to  disengage  herself  from  a  tangle  of  bag  and  hat 
box  and  umbrella.  "For  goodness*  sake,  look  out, 
Nan.  We  are  moving."  This,  because  Nan  stuck 
her  head  far  out  of  the  window  to  get  a  last  look  at 
the  dear  folks  on  the  platform. 

"I  know  we're  moving,"  sighed  Nan,  as  she  turned 
from  the  window  and  began  patiently  to  separate 
Bess  from  her  belongings  and  stow  the  articles  away 
in  the  wire  basket  overhead.  "I  always  have  a 
funny  feeling  as  if  I  were  leaving  half  of  me  behind 
every  time  I  say  good-bye  to  Momsey  and  Papa 
Sherwood." 

"I  should  think  you  would  be  used  to  it  by  this 


if*         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

time,"  said  Bess,  as  she  removed  her  hat  and  fluffed 
out  her  pretty  curls.  "We  certainly  can't  complain 
of  having  to  stay  too  much  in  one  place." 

"I  should  say  not!"  exclaimed  Nan,  as  she 
thought  of  how  many  wonderful  things  had  hap- 
pened since  that  day  when  she  had  started  out  for 
the  great  north  woods  with  Uncle  Henry.  "But, 
oh,  Bess,"  she  added,  turning  happy  eyes  upon  her 
chum,  "we  never  went  on  quite  such  a  wonderful 
journey  as  this — not  even  when  we  went  to  Rose 
Ranch." 

"It  all  conies  of  having  such  nice  friends,"  re- 
plied Bess,  taking  out  a  tiny  hand  mirror  and  re- 
garding the  tip  of  her  nose  critically.  "And  friends 
with  money,"  she  added  significantly. 

"Bess !  How  you  talk !"  cried  the  girl  from  Tin- 
bury,  turning  a  shocked  gaze  upon  her  friend.  For 
Nan  Sherwood  never  failed  to  be  shocked  at  Eliza- 
beth's very  evident  love  of  money  and  what  it  could 
buy.  "If  it  were  only  money  we  cared  for  we  might 
have  made  friends  with  Linda  Riggs,  I  suppose.  I 
heard  her  say  something  about  going  to  Europe  next 
summer,  and  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  she  would  take 
Cora  Courtney  and  one  or  two  more  of  her  satellites 
with  her.  Perhaps  if  we  had  been  very  good,  she 
might  have  asked  us." 

"Well,  it  would  have  been  fun,"  said  Bess,  wick- 
edly enjoying  the  shocked  look  that  deepened  on 
Nan's  face.  "Cheer  up,  Nan,"  she  added  with  one 


Great  Expectations  113 

of  her  sudden  changes  of  mood.  "You  know  very 
well  how  I  hate  Linda.  However,"  she  continued, 
"I  suppose  we  really  ought  to  be  grateful  to  her 
now." 

"Grateful?"  repeated  Nan  wonderingly. 

"For  damaging  the  heating  plant  up  at  school, 
silly,"  explained  Bess,  "and  giving  us  a  chance  to 
go  to  Florida." 


CHAPTER  XV 
WE'RE  OFF! 

NAN  could  not  help  laughing  at  this  speech  of  her 
chum's,  and  she  turned  her  chair  about  to  face  Bess. 
Nan  did  not  like  riding  backward  in  a  train  very 
much  herself,  but  as  Bess  had  declared  she  "simply 
couldn't  stand  it,"  it  was  unselfish  Nan,  as  usual, 
who  did  the  unpleasant  thing. 

But,  the  chair  turned,  as  she  sank  down  into  its 
luxurious  depth  she  looked  across  gravely  at  her 
friend. 

"I  don't  see  why  you  say  that  Linda  did  that 
awful  thing  up  at  school,"  she  said.  "We  haven't 
the  slightest  proof  in  the  world  that  she  was  the 
guilty  one.  That  handkerchief  you  found  didn't 
really  prove  anything." 

Bess  sniffed  as  she  reached  over  to  open  her  bag 
and  get  out  from  among  its  heterogeneous  contents 
a  box  of  sweets  she  had  thoughtfully  remembered 
to  slip  in  before  she  started. 

"Of  course  we  don't  know  that  she  did  it,"  she 
said,  opening  the  box  and  offering  it  to  Nan.  "But 

114 


We're  Off!  '115 

you  know  very  well  there  isn't  another  girl  in  the 
school  who  is  mean  enough  to  think  of  such  a 
thing." 

"Y-yes,"  answered  Nan  doubtfully,  as  she  pushed 
the  candy  over  toward  its  owner.  "But  on  the  other 
hand,  I  never  thought  Linda  had  nerve  enough  to 
do  anything  like  that.  Why,  she  might  have  been 
dreadfully  hurt  herself!" 

"Of  course  she  didn't  know  that  she  was  in  dan- 
ger," retorted  Bess,  with  a  scornful  little  toss  of 
her  head.  "She  didn't  have  brains  enough." 

"Just  the  same,"  said  Nan  decidedly,  "I  don't 
think  we  ought  to  accuse  her  until  we  have  some- 
thing definite  to  go  on." 

"Isn't  that  just  like  Nan  Sherwood !"  cried  Bess, 
regarding  her  chum  with  a  mixture  of  fondness  and 
irritation.  "Always  making  excuses  for  everybody ! 
I  suppose  if  we  had  caught  Linda  in  the  act,  you 
would  still  say  it  must  have  been  somebody  else." 

"Hardly  as  bad  as  that,"  said  Nan,  with  a  little 
laugh,  adding,  while  a  cloud  passed  over  her  face: 
"Goodness  knows  I  have  more  reason  than  any  of 
the  rest  of  the  girls  for  disliking  Linda.  She  never 
accused  any  one  but  me  of  stealing.  I  only  hope," 
she  added,  "that  we  don't  meet  her  somewhere  on 
this  trip." 

"Goodness  gracious,  Nan!"  cried  Bess,  fairly 
jumping  from  her  seat  in  surprise,  "you  don't  ex- 
pect to  meet  her,  do  you?" 


n6         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm.  Beach 

"If  I  did,"  said  Nan  ruefully,  "I  would  get  right 
off  this  train  and  go  back  to  Tillbury,  much  as  I 
have  counted  on  this  trip.  No,  honey,"  she  added, 
laughing  at  her  own  extravagance,  "there's  no  need 
of  your  getting  excited,  for  I  have  no  idea  that  we 
shall  meet  Linda  at  Palm  Beach.  Only  she  has  the 
most  disconcerting  way  of  popping  up  in  places 
where  you  least  expect  her." 

"Well,  all  I  have  to  say,"  returned  Bess,  biting 
fiercely  into  a  fresh  chocolate  and  wishing  it  were 
Linda  instead,  "is  that  I  wish  you  wouldn't  put  such 
uncomfortable  ideas  into  my  head.  Here  I  was  just 
about  forgetting  Linda,  and  you  have  to  lug  her 
into  the  limelight  again." 

Nan  laughed  merrily  and  helped  herself  to  an- 
other of  Bess's  chocolates  without  even  so  much  as  a 
"by  your  leave." 

"Cheer  up,"  she  said,  with  a  chuckle,  "I've  done 
all  the  'lugging'  I'm  going  to  for  a  little  while.  And 
in  the  meantime,"  she  added,  her  voice  thrilling  with 
anticipation,  "let's  think  of  something  really  pleas- 
ant— Palm  Beach,  for  instance." 

"Now  you  are  talking!"  cried  Bess  approvingly. 
"I  have  to  pinch  myself  about  every  five  minutes  to 
realize  that  I'm  really  going  there.  I  wonder  if  it 
is  really  as  gay  as  people  say  it  is.  That's  where 
all  the  actresses  go,  you  know.  And  millionaires 
and  authors " 

"And  bald-headed  business  men  and  fussy,  over- 


We're  Off!  117 

dressed  women,"  added  Nan  demurely,  her  eyes 
twinkling  at  the  look  of  horror  that  Bess  turned 
upon  her. 

"Nan,  how  can  you  ?"  Bess  burst  out,  as  Nan  had 
fully  expected  her  to  do.  "Bald-headed  men,  in- 
deed! Do  you  suppose  I  have  come  all  this  way 
just  to  see  a  lot  of  old  bald-headed  men?" 

"You  haven't  come  yet,"  Nan  reminded  her,  her 
eyes  sparkling.  "I  didn't  say  all  the  men  were  bald- 
headed,"  she  added,  in  an  attempt  to  soothe  her  out- 
raged companion.  "But  dad  says  most  of  them  are 
—especially  the  millionaires." 

"Oh,  how — how — dreadful!"  stuttered  Bess. 
"Why,  all  the  millionaires  I  ever  saw  had  beautiful, 
leonine  heads  with  shaggy  manes  of  thick  white  hair 
and  strong,  clearly  cut  chins " 

"That's  in  the  movies,"  Nan  interrupted  with  a 
chuckle.  "Papa  Sherwood  says  that  if  all  the  men 
had  hair  like  the  movie  heroes  they  would  have  to 
spend  all  their  energy  growing  it  and  wouldn't  have 
time  to  attend  to  their  brains.  And  then  where 
would  their  millions  be?" 

"Well,"  said  Bess,  unable  to  find  an  answer  to 
this  queer  question,  yet  still  indignant,  nevertheless, 
"you  needn't  go  to  work  to  spoil  all  my  illusions.  I 
don't  believe  you  have  a  speck  of  romance  anywhere 
about  you,  Nan  Sherwood." 

"Maybe  I  haven't,"  Nan  admitted  cheerfully, 
without  looking  the  slightest  bit  worried  about  it. 


u8         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"But  I  expect  to  have  lots  of  fun,  just  the  same. 
Oh,  Bess,  look  out!" 

Bess,  who  had  stood  up  to  pull  down  the  shade, 
jumped  and  looked  about  at  Nan  wildly. 

"What's  the  matter?"  she  gasped.  "Train  on 
fire?" 

"No.  But  you  almost  sat  on  a  chocolate,"  said 
Nan  calmly,  as  she  removed  the  large  and  luscious 
sweet  from  Bess's  seat.  Bess  stared  at  her  reproach- 
fully and  sank  back  into  the  chair. 

"You  might  just  as  well  kill  me  as  scare  me  to 
death,"  she  said  reproachfully. 

For  a  while  after  that  the  happy  girls  forgot  to 
talk  and  sat  staring  contentedly  out  at  the  flying 
landscape  while  the  train  pounded  on  heavily  over 
the  rails,  singing  its  everlasting  "catch  'em  up,  catch 
'em  up,  catch  'em  up." 

Then  suddenly  Bess  spoke,  taking  up  the  conver- 
sation where  they  had  left  it. 

"If  all  we  are  going  to  find  at  Palm  Beach  is  bald 
men  and  fussy  women,"  she  said,  "I  must  say  I 
don't  see  how  we  are  going  to  have  much  fun." 

"Oh,  don't  be  such  a  silly,"  laughed  Nan.  "Of 
course  we  are  going  to  find  something  else.  There's 
the  ocean  and  the  palm  trees.  They  say  the  scenery 
is  perfectly  gorgeous  and  the  two  big  hotels  won- 
derful, and  there'll  be  the  crowds  and  crowds  of 
people.  And  then  we  shall  meet  Grace  and 
Walter " 


We're  Off!  119 

"And  Walter,"  repeated  Bess  teasingly,  then 
laughed  at  the  other  girl's  quick  blush. 

"Now  I  know  you  are  silly,"  said  Nan  crossly. 
"You  know  you  are  glad  Walter  is  going  to  be 
there." 

"Of  course  I  am,"  admitted  Bess  with  suspicious 
promptness.  "Walter  is  jolly  good  fun,  especially 
when  he  has  his  Bargain  Ritsh  with  him.  But  lately 
the  rest  of  us  girls — even  Grace — have  to  hang  on  to 
his  coat-tails  to  keep  him  from  going  off  alone  with 
you.  He  doesn't  seem  to  know  there's  any  one  else 
around.  Oh,  you  don't  need  to  look  so  surprised, 
Miss  Innocence,"  she  added,  as  Nan  regarded  her 
with  wide-open  eyes.  "You  know  it  just  as  well  as 
the  rest  of  us." 

"Oh — oh — I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing!"  cried 
Nan,  and  her  amazement  was  unfeigned.  "I  think 
you  are  perfectly  horrid.  Why,  Walter  has  always 
been  lovely  to  all  of  us.  And  as  to  his  going  off 
with  me  alone — why,  that's  nonsense,  and  you  know 
it,  Bess  Harley!"  Nan's  amazement  was  rapidly 
giving  way  to  indignation.  "Walter  has  never  gone 
off  anywhere  alone  with  me,  never!" 

"I  know  he  hasn't,"  admitted  Bess,  with  a  chuckle. 
"And  for  a  very  good  reason.  We  wouldn't  let 
him." 

Nan  stared  for  a  minute.  Then  something  sur- 
prisingly like  tears  filled  her  eyes  and  she  turned 
quickly  to  the  window. 


I2O         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"I  don't  think  you  are  nice,"  she  said  in  a  low 
voice.  "If  Walter  has  been  any  nicer  to  me  than 
he  has  to  any  one  else,  I  surely  haven't  noticed  it 
And  now  you've  gone  and  spoiled  everything.  I 
won't  want  to  go  anywhere  with  him  now  just  be- 
cause I  will  be  afraid  you  girls  are  saying  silly 
things.  And  Walter's  such  awfully  good  fun!" 
The  last  was  very  much  in  the  nature  of  a  wail,  and 
Bess's  heart,  which  was  never  very  hard  at  any  time, 
softened  and  she  slipped  over  to  Nan's  chair  and 
put  an  arm  about  her  chum. 

"Move  over,"  she  commanded.  "It's  lucky  neither 
of  us  is  very  fat  or  we  couldn't  both  sit  in  one 
chair.  That's  right,"  as  Nan  obediently  "moved 
over"  but  still  kept  her  face  to  the  window.  "Now 
say  you  forgive  me  for  being  such  an  old  bear. 
After  all,  honey,"  and  she  patted  Nan's  shoulder 
soothingly,  "I  suppose  it  isn't  your  fault  if  Walter 
likes  you  best." 

Nan's  shoulder  moved  impatiently. 

"But  he  doesn't,"  she  insisted,  staring  out  of  the 
window.  "It  isn't  so." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Bess  soothingly.  But  it  was 
lucky  Nan  could  not  see  the  twinkle  in  her  eye, 
"Have  it  your  own  way,  Nan.  Only  stop  turning 
your  back  to  me.  It  isn't  polite.  And,  oh!"  she 
added,  with  a  little  sigh,  "I'm  hungry." 

At  this  sudden  and  very  unromantic  change  in  the 
subject  Nan  laughed.  And  as  laughter  and  ill-tern- 


We're  Off!  121 

per  never  go  hand  in  hand,  it  was  not  long  before 
Nan  had  forgotten  all  about  Walter — almost. 

She  produced  the  lunch  box,  and  for  once  Bess 
was  too  ravenously  hungry  to  protest  at  the  "com- 
monness" of  it,  and  they  set  to  at  its  delicious  con- 
tents with  a  will. 

It  was  eight  o'clock  when  they  went  into  the  sleep- 
ing car,  as  they  had  been  unable  to  secure  a  berth  in 
Tillbury,  and  had  had  to  telegraph  ahead  to  have 
one  reserved  on  a  coach  which  was  attached  to  the 
train  further  along  the  line. 

"This  is  more  like  it,"  said  Nan,  as  they  entered 
the  sleeping  car.  "I'll  be  glad  enough  to  go  to  bed 
just  as  soon  as  we  can  see  no  more  of  the  scenery 
we  are  passing." 

"Who  is  to  take  the  upper  berth,  you  or  I  ?"  de- 
manded her  companion. 

"Maybe  we  had  better  toss  up  for  it,"  said  Nan. 

Just  then  the  girls  observed  a  lady  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  aisle  telling  the  colored  porter  not  to  fix 
the  upper  berth  at  all,  that  she  and  her  daughter 
"Would  both  sleep  below. 

"Let's  do  that,"  suggested  Nan. 

"By  all  means,"  answered  Bess;  and  so  it  was 
settled. 

"Lots  o'  folks  don't  use  dat  dar  upper  berth,"  ex- 
plained the  porter  as  he  fixed  the  lower  bed  only. 
"They  leaves  it  up  and  dat  gives  'em  so  much  more 
room  to  stand  up  an*  dress  an'  undress." 


122         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"It  will  just  suit  us,"  declared  Bess. 

Soon  the  berth  was  ready  and  a  little  later  the 
girls  retired. 

Being  together  they  had  thought  to  have  a  good 
"talk-fest,"  as  Bess  called  it.  But  alas !  both  were  so 
tired  out  that  they  fell  asleep  almost  before  they 
knew  it.  And  neither  woke  up  until  morning,  when 
they  were  rolling  into  New  York  City. 

"Gracious ;  time  to  get  up !"  and  Nan  lost  no  time 
in  dressing  and  Bess  followed  her  example. 

The  first  part  of  their  momentous  journey  had 
come  to  an  end. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

FUN    AND    NONSENSE 

IN  HER  impatience  Bess  Harley  thought  she  had 
never  known  a  crowd  to  move  so  slowly.  Of  course 
all  the  people  on  the  train  were  getting  out  at  New 
York,  for  the  simple  reason  that  the  train  did  not 
go  any  farther. 

At  any  other  time  the  girls  would  have  been  tre- 
mendously pleased  about  going  to  New  York.  But 
now,  with  the  even  more  wonderful  prospect  of 
Florida  looming  up,  New  York  appealed  to  them 
simply  as  a  means  to  an  end. 

"It's  that  fat  man  at  the  end,"  hissed  Bess  in 
Nan's  ear.  "He's  holding  up  the  whole  procession. 
What's  he  talking  about,  anyway?" 

"Sh-h,"  whispered  Nan.  "He  may  hear  you.  Are 
you  sure  you  have  everything,  honey?"  she  added, 
making  a  mental  count  of  Bess's  belongings  to  make 
certain  that  her  careless  chum  had  left  nothing  be- 
hind. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Nan  Sherwood,  I  wonder 
you  don't  have  a  record  made  of  that  question  and 
then  turn  it  on  every  five  minutes  or  so,"  said  Bess, 

123 


124         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 
i- 

whose  temper  was  beginning  to  be  ruffled  by  the  de- 
lay. "That's  all  I  hear  from  morning  to  night. 
'Are  you  sure  you  have  everything?'  I  think  I'll 
try  it  on  you  and  see  how  you  like  it." 

"Oh,  I'd  love  it,"  cried  Nan,  with  such  fervor 
that  Bess  looked  at  her  in  surprise.  "It's  this  bag," 
explained  Nan,  looking  down  at  her  own  handsome 
suitcase.  "I'm  certain  it  will  be  stolen  or  I'll  lose  it 
or  something  before  we  can  get  to  Florida." 

"Well,  it  is  an  expensive  suitcase,"  Bess  admitted, 
as  the  fat  man  at  the  front  of  the  car  finished  his 
argument  with  the  conductor  and  the  line  of  pas- 
sengers moved  slowly  on  toward  the  door.  "But 
you  never  used  to  lie  awake  at  night  worrying  about 
it." 

It  was  Nan's  turn  to  look  her  amazement. 

"It  isn't  the  bag  I'm  worrying  about,  and  you 
ought  to  know  that,"  she  said  in  a  low  voice.  "It's 
what  is  in  the  bag." 

"Oh!"  said  Bess,  suddenly  remembering,  "you 
mean  those  papers  Mrs.  Bragley  gave  you?  Well, 
I  wouldn't  worry  about  them,"  she  added  carelessly. 
"I  don't  believe  they  are  really  worth  anything,  any- 
way." 

"Oh,  hush,"  Nan  begged  her  as  they  stepped  upon 
the  platform  and  a  man  turned  to  look  at  them  curi- 
ously. "Please  don't  mention  any  names,  Bess.  It 
might  make  trouble." 

"Why,  Nan  Sherwood,  how  you  talk !"  cried  Bess, 


Fun  and  Nonsense  I2J? 

turning  to  look  curiously  at  her  chum.  "You  might 
really  think  those  old  papers  were  worth  something." 

"I  believe  they  are,"  said  Nan  seriously,  as,  with 
bag  clutched  tightly  in  her  hand,  she  started  with 
Bess  down  the  long  blustling  platform.  "Anyway, 
I  want  to  do  my  best  to  help  the  poor  woman.  I 
felt  dreadfully  sorry  for  her." 

"I  feel  sorry  for  everybody  who  isn't  going  to 
Palm  Beach,"  cried  Bess  gaily,  as  she  looked  about 
her  with  sparkling  eyes.  "Oh,  Nan,  isn't  this  a 
lark?" 

"You'd  better  look  out,"  cried  Nan  sharply,  as 
Bess  stepped  directly  in  front  of  a  heaped-up  bag- 
gage truck  that  was  being  trundled  heavily  down 
the  platform,  "or  it  will  be  a  tragedy  instead." 

The  girls  had  supposed  they  had  become  accus- 
tomed to  the  noise  and  confusion  of  a  big  city  dur- 
ing their  visit  in  Chicago,  but  as  they  stepped  from 
the  great  Pennsylvania  Station  on  to  the  crowded 
New  York  street  they  felt  disconcertingly  like 
startled  country  girls  arriving  in  the  city  for  the 
first  time. 

"Goodness !  I  thought  Chicago  was  awful,"  whis- 
pered Bess  in  Nan's  ear.  "But  this  is  worse.  What 
shall  we  do?" 

"That's  easy,"  said  Nan,  taking  command  of  the 
situation  as  usual.  "Papa  Sherwood  told  me  to 
take  a  taxi  straight  over  to  the  dock  and  not  to 
speak  to  any  one  on  the  way." 


126         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Well,  I  think  we'll  have  our  choice  of  taxis," 
remarked  Bess,  with  a  chuckle,  as  several  chauffeurs 
standing  by  or  sitting  in  cabs  drawn  up  along  the 
curb  espied  the  well-dressed  girls  and  immediately 
set  up  a  cry  of  "Taxi,  taxi !  Right  this  way,  lady!" 

Looking  as  if  she  had  been  used  to  riding  around 
in  taxicabs  in  strange  and  noisy  cities  all  her  life, 
Nan  walked  forward,  still  clutching  the  precious  bag 
that  held  Mrs.  Bragley's  papers  and  calmly  selected 
a  brilliant  yellow  cab  whose  driver  opened  the  door 
to  her  respectfully. 

Bess  followed,  all  eyes  and  ears  for  the  noise  and 
confusion  of  the  street.  Nan  gave  instructions  to 
the  chauffeur,  who  touched  his  cap,  slammed  the 
door  shut  on  the  girls  and  sprang  to  his  seat  in 
front. 

"I  think  you  are  just  wonderful,  Nan  Sherwood," 
said  Bess,  when  they  were  gliding  swiftly  off 
through  the  bewildering  traffic.  "I  was  frightened 
to  death  when  all  those  men  started  shouting  at  us 
at  once.  I  wanted  to  run  back  into  the  station  and 
hide.  But  you  didn't,  and  of  course  /  didn't,  and 
here  we  are !"  She  gave  an  excited  little  bounce  on 
the  seat.  "Only,"  she  added  reproachfully,  "I  don't 
see  why  you  picked  out  a  yellow  taxi.  You  know  I 
hate  yellow." 

"Goodness!  I  didn't  even  notice  the  color,"  said 
Nan,  feeling  her  suitcase  with  one  foot  to  be  sure 
it  was  still  there.  "If  you  will  just  tell  me  what 


Fun  and  Nonsense  127 

color  you  like  best  I'll  send  a  note  to  the  governor 
and  ask  him  to  have  them  painted  that  way." 

"How  sweet  of  you,"  mocked  Bess,  and  a  moment 
later  grasped  her  chum's  arm  in  fright.  "Did  you 
see  that  ?"  she  cried,  as  the  driver  put  on  his  brakes 
and  they  stopped  within  about  two  inches  of  the 
back  of  a  great  lumbering  truck.  "I'm  afraid  this 
driver  is  going  to  kill  us  before  ever  we  can  get  to 
the  dock." 

"Never  mind,  honey,"  said  Nan  soothingly, 
though  she  herself  had  been  considerably  startled 
at  the  close  call.  "Papa  Sherwood  says  all  the  driv- 
ers are  like  that  in  New  York,  and  yet  there  are  very 
few  accidents.  We  must  be  near  the  dock,  anyway." 

"Isn't  that  horrid?"  cried  Bess  with  one  of  her 
quick  changes  of  interest.  "Just  think,  we'll  have 
to  go  and  leave  New  York  before  we  have  really 
seen  anything  of  it." 

Nan  shrugged  her  shoulders  helplessly. 

"I  thought  you  weren't  enjoying  your  ride,"  she 
said,  "and  here  you  are  bemoaning  the  fact  that  it 
is  nearly  over.  Bess,  I  give  you  up." 

Bess  merely  chuckled,  and  a  few  minutes  later  in- 
sisted upon  stopping  the  machine  while  she  got  out 
and  bought  some  oranges  from  a  tempting  fruit- 
stand. 

"Now,"  she  said,  proudly  exhibiting  her  purchase 
to  Nan  when  the  car  was  once  more  bumping  on- 
ward over  cobblestones  toward  the  dock,  "we  sha'n't 


starve  on  our  trip,  anyway.  Oh,  look,  Nan;  we're 
there !"  she  cried,  pointing  excitedly  out  of  the  win- 
dow. "See  that  thing  over  there  that  looks  like 
something  between  a  cave  and  a  barn  with  a  sign 
over  it?  That  must  be  the  entrance  to  one  of  the 
docks.  Yes,  see  the  people  going  in?  And  there's 
another  and  another.  Oh,  oh !" 

"For  goodness'  sake,  sit  still,"  commanded  Nan. 
"You're  spilling  all  the  oranges." 

"My,  what  a  joy  killer  you  are,  Nan  Sherwood," 
sighed  Bess,  as  she  rebelliously  stuffed  the  bag  of 
oranges  into  her  already  over-filled  suitcase.  "What 
are  a  few  oranges  more  or  less  at  a  glorious  time 
like  this?" 

Then  the  taxicab  left  the  rough  pavement  and 
rolled  along  over  the  smooth  asphalt.  On  all  sides 
of  them  were  trucks  and  autos,  with  here  and  there 
a  horse-drawn  vehicle.  The  noise  was  something 
awful. 

"Goodness  gracious,  how  different  from  the  quiet- 
ness at  the  Hall !"  remarked  Bess. 

"And  how  different  even  from  Tillbury,"  returned 

Nan. 

ft 

"What  a  lot  of  foreigners  here,  JNan." 

"I  guess  they  come  from  the  ships.  The  docks 
are  all  along  here,  so  I've  been  told." 

"I  wouldn't  want  to  come  down  here  after  dark 
and  all  alone." 

"No,  I'd  not  like  that  myself,  Bess." 


Fun  and  Nonsense  129 

"Some  of  those  men  look  like  regular  Italian 
brigands." 

"Yes,  and  others  look  like  Russian  anarchists." 

Suddenly  the  machine  came  to  a  standstill  and 
the  man  in  front  looked  about  at  Nan  and  repeated 
the  instructions  she  had  given  him  to  make  sure  he 
had  them  correctly. 

"That's  right,"  answered  Nan,  nodding.  "We 
must  be  almost  there,  aren't  we  ?" 

"Yes,  Miss,"  said  the  man,  as  he  started  the  car 
again.  "See  that  dock  over  yonder?  That's  it." 
And  he  swung  the  machine  about  in  a  semicircle  and 
headed  for  one  of  the  openings  which  Bess  had 
described  as  "something  between  a  cave  and  a 
barn." 

"Nan,  I  never  felt  so  funny  before,"  Bess  con- 
fided to  her  chum.  "I  think  I  am  going  to  faint  or 
something." 

"And  I  think  you  had  better  not,"  said  Nan,  in 
alarm.  "I  have  all  I  can  do  to  carry  my  own  lug- 
gage without  having  you  piled  on  top  of  it." 

"You  wouldn't  have  to  carry  me,"  giggled  Bess 
incorrigibly.  "I'd  ask  the  good-looking  chauffeur 
to  do  it." 

"How  could  you  ask  him  anything  if  you  had 
fainted?"  asked  Nan,  beginning  systematically  to 
get  her  things  together.  "Hurry  up,  Bess.  I  guess 
this  is  where  we  get  off.  Are  you  sure " 

"You  have  everything?"  finished  the  irrepressible 


130         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach! 

Bess  with  another  giggle.  "I  was  just  waiting  for 
that.  Look  out,  Nan.  You  stepped  on  my  toe." 

"I  know  it,"  said  Nan  calmly.  "I  did  it  on  pur- 
pose." 

Nan  seized  the  opportunity  to  make  good  her  es!- 
cape,  and  Bess,  following  close  upon  her  heels,  whis- 
pered dramatically  in  her  ear:  "Take  care,  woman! 
You  shall  not  again  escape  me.  Next  time  I  will 
spit  thee  like  a  goose." 

"All  right,"  said  Nan,  turning  calmly  to  the 
driver  who  was  waiting  for  his  fee.  "Only  wait  a 
minute,  will  you  ?  I  have  to  pay  the  fare." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    MYSTERIOUS    MEN 

As  THE  machine  drove  away  several  street  urchins 
came  running  toward  the  girls,  begging  the  privi- 
lege of  carrying  their  bags.  Nan  would  have  re- 
fused, the  bags  being  not  at  all  heavy  and  the  walk 
to  the  end  of  the  dock  from  the  entrance  not  very 
far,  but  Bess  nudged  her  sharply. 

"Go  ahead,"  she  urged.  "I  have  a  quarter  to  pay 
for  it.  Don't  be  a  silly." 

So  Nan  obeyed  and  reluctantly  handed  over  to 
one  of  the  eager  street  urchins  the  handsome  bag 
which  contained,  among  other  things,  Mrs.  Brag- 
ley's  papers.  Bess  had  already  loaded  the  small  boy 
with  her  own  belongings,  and  it  seemed  impos- 
sible to  Nan  that  the  lad  could  be  able  to  carry 
it  all. 

Yet  he  sauntered  ahead  quite  cheerfully  while  the 
other  boys  turned  away  disappointed  to  wait  for  the 
next  arrival. 

As  the  girls  emerged  from  the  long,  tunnel-like 
entrance  into  the  bright  sunshine  of  the  dock  they 
quickened  their  steps  instinctively.  The  steamship 


132         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Dorian,  which  was  to  carry  them  to  Florida,  was 
already  waiting  for  the  passengers. 

Nan  had  never  seen  a  harbor  like  this  before,  and 
she  gazed  with  fascinated  eyes  out  over  the  glisten- 
ing water,  dotted  thickly  with  craft  of  all  sizes  and 
descriptions. 

There  were  a  great  many  docks  like  the  kind  upon 
which  she  and  Bess  were  standing,  and  they 
stretched  out  into  the  harbor  like  so  many  legs  of  an 
octopus,  cleaving  the  brilliant  water  with  dark  ugly 
gashes. 

Over  all  the  bustling  harbor  was  a  sense  of  fev- 
erish activity,  of  mystery  and  romance,  of  adven- 
turing in  far,  fair  lands  that  set  Nan's  blood  atingle 
and  made  her  breath  come  quickly. 

"What  are  you  waiting  for?"  Bess  asked  impa- 
tiently, and  Nan  roused  from  her  reverie  with  a 
start. 

"I  wasn't  waiting,  I  was  just  looking,"  said  Nan 
in  a  soft  voice,  as  they  started  up  the  gangplank  that 
led  to  the  deck  of  the  Dorian.  "I  never  saw  any- 
thing so  wonderful." 

"Beg  pardon,  Miss,"  said  a  voice  in  her  ear,  and 
a  small  hand  was  laid  upon  her  arm. 

Nan  turned  quickly  and  saw  that  it  was  their  small 
luggage  carrier.  In  their  preoccupation  the  girls 
had  both  of  them  forgotten  about  their  precious 
bags. 

With  quick  fingers  Nan  fished  in  her  purse  for 


The  Mysterious  Men  133 

the  necessary  quarter,  gave  it  to  the  boy  and  re- 
ceived her  bag  in  return. 

"Oh,  Bess!"  she  cried  as  the  boy  tipped  his  cap 
and  started  on,  "how  could  I  ever  have  done  such 
a  thing?  Why,  if  I  had  lost  this  bag  I  never  would 
have  dared  face  Mrs.  Bragley  again.  Never  in  this 
wide  world!" 

"I  wish  Mrs.  Bragley  were  in  Guinea,"  said  Bess 
crossly.  "She  and  her  old  papers  are  just  about 
going  to  spoil  our  trip.  They  are  making  you  as  ner- 
vous as  a  cat." 

"Sh-h,  Bess,  not  so  loud,"  cautioned  Nan,  as  they 
stepped  upon  the  deck  of  the  Dorian  and  handed 
over  the  tickets  which  Papa  Sherwood  had  secured 
for  them. 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for  the  girls'  peace  of 
mind  that  they  did  not  notice  two  men  who  were 
closely  behind  them.  One  of  the  men  was  fat  and 
short  and  had  little  eyes  and  a  bald  head,  which  he 
was  now  mopping  vigorously  with  a  rather  soiled 
handkerchief. 

His  companion  was  his  complete  opposite.  He 
was  tall  and  thin,  with  a  severe,  straight  line  for  a 
mouth  and  long,  nervous  hands,  and  had  a  habit  of 
caressing  his  beardless  chin  as  though  a  beard  had 
once  grown  there. 

As  the  tall  thin  man,  whom  his  companion  called 
Jensen,  overheard  Nan's  startled  reference  to  Mrs. 
Bragley's  papers,  he  put  a  hand  upon  the  fat  man's 


134         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

arm  and  nodded  once  with  a  sort  of  jerk  of  satis- 
faction. 

"What  did  I  say,  Davis?"  he  asked,  in  a  carefully 
guarded  voice.  "I  tell  you,  I  am  never  wrong." 
And  his  eyes  followed  the  girls  as  they  started  down 
the  deck  in  the  direction  of  their  cabin. 

As  they,  in  turn,  stepped  upon  the  deck,  the  short 
man  looked  up  at  his  tall  companion  and  said  rather 
enigmatically:  "Sometimes  I  wonder,  Jensen, 
whether  you  are  a  great  man,  or  a  great  fool.  It's 
certainly  great  to  have  them  on  this  trip  to  Florida 
with  us." 

Although  the  girls  knew  nothing  of  this  strange 
conversation,  Nan  was  extremely  careful  to  stow 
her  bag  away  in  a  corner  of  their  stateroom  and 
piled  several  things  on  it  and  about  it  so  that  it 
could  not  be  easily  seen  by  curious  eyes. 

"Nan,  if  you  don't  leave  that  old  thing  alone  I'm 
going  to  throw  it  overboard,"  Bess  finally  said  com- 
plainingly.  "You  act  as  if  it  contained  diamonds 
and  rubies  instead  of " 

"Oh,  please  hush,"  said  Nan,  rising  quickly  from 
her  knees  and  coming  over  to  Bess.  "I  don't  know 
what  has  gotten  into  me  lately,  Bess  dear,"  she  said, 
speaking  so  earnestly  that  her  chum  regarded  her 
in  surprise;  "but  ever  since  I  took  charge  of  those 
papers  I  have  had  the  strangest  impression  that  I 
am  being  watched." 

"Nan!"   cried   Bess,   looking  uneasily  over  her 


The  Mysterious  Men  135 

shoulder,  "what  a  terrible  thing.  But,  of  course,  it's 
only  imagination,"  she  added  easily,  for  it  was  in- 
stinct with  Bess  to  cast  aside  anything  that  threat- 
ened to  worry  her  or  interfere  with  her  fun.  "I 
told  you  the  old  papers  were  getting  on  your 
nerves." 

"You're  right,"  said  Nan,  with  a  little  sigh  as  she 
rose  to  take  off  her  coat  and  hat  and  straighten  her 
hair  before  the  tiny  mirror.  "They  certainly  are 
getting  on  my  nerves." 

"Well,  for  goodness'  sake  get  them  off  then," 
commanded  Bess,  bouncing  impatiently  on  a  berth. 
"I  never  saw  such  a  girl  to  take  everybody  else's 
troubles  on  her  own  shoulders.  I'll  be  glad  when 
you  turn  the  papers  over  to  Mr.  Mason." 

Nan  smiled  a  resigned  little  smile  at  her  reflection 
in  the  mirror.  Then  she  came  over  and  put  an  arm 
about  her  pouting  chum. 

"All  right,"  she  promised  gaily,  "I  won't  ever  do 
it  again.  Only  come  on  and  smile,  honey.  If  you 
knew  how  pretty  you  look  when  you  do,  you  would 
never  do  anything  else." 

There  are  very  few  girls  who  can  withstand  an 
appeal  like  that,  and  Bess  was  not  one  of  them.  A 
smile  replaced  the  frown  immediately  and  the  next 
minute  she  was  chatting  merrily  about  their  crowded 
little  stateroom  and  the  two  narrow  berths,  one 
above  the  other,  wondering  with  a  grimace  whether 
they  would  be  seasick  or  not,  and  so,  on  and  on,  till 


136          Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Nan's  momentary  depression  forsook  her  and  she 
felt  again  the  thrill  that  had  quickened  her  blood  as 
they  had  stood  on  the  dock,  gazing  out  over  the 
harbor. 

Yet,  almost  unknown  to  Nan  herself,  there  lin- 
gered in  the  back  of  her  mind  a  strange,  uneasy 
premonition  of  trouble  to  come,  and  again  and 
again  her  eyes  sought  the  spot  where  the  bag  with 
Mrs.  Bagley's  papers  stowed  safely  inside  lay  hid- 
den. 

"I  wonder  which  one  of  us  is  going  to  take  the 
upper  berth,"  Bess  chattered  gaily  on.  "You  had 
better,  Nan,  because  you're  thinner  than  I.  And 
then  if  the  berth  should  cave  in  it  wouldn't  hurt 
you  so  much  because  there  would  be  something  soft 
to  fall  on.  It's  a  snug  little  place,  isn't  it  ?" 

"Snug  is  right,"  said  Nan,  with  a  giggle.  "You 
can't  turn  around  without  running  in  to  some- 
thing." 

"That's  Linda's  fault.  She  shouldn't  have 
wrecked  the  heating  system  at  school  in  the  Palm 
Beach  season.  If  it  had  been  in  December  now,  or 
March,  there  wouldn't  have  been  such  a  crowd  and 
we  could  have  had  a  real  honest  to  goodness  state- 
room, instead  of  this  two-by-one  hole  in  the  wall." 

"Elizabeth,  how  shocking,"  laughed  Nan.  "You 
must  have  been  taking  lessons  from  Walter."  And 
then,  for  no  apparent  reason  at  all,  or  perhaps  be- 
cause of  the  expression  in  her  chum's  eyes  as  they 


The  Mysterious  Men  137 

rested  upon  her,  Nan  became  suddenly  confused  and 
hurriedly  changed  the  subject. 

"Let's  go  outside,"  she  suggested,  rising  and 
making  toward  the  door  of  the  stateroom,  which 
opened  directly  out  upon  the  deck.  "It — it's  awfully 
hot  in  here." 

Bess  laughed  tantalizingly  and  stretched  lazily  as 
she  prepared  to  follow  her  chum. 

"Nan,  honey,"  she  drawled,  irrelevantly,  or  so  it 
seemed  to  Nan,  "you  are  a  darling,  but,  oh,  you're 
awfully  foolish." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

A    STARTLING    REVELATION 

IT  WAS  a  wonderful  journey,  that  one  to  Jackson- 
ville, and  one  the  girls  never  forgot.  At  first  the 
weather  was  unpleasant,  cold  and  blowy,  but  toward 
the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  the  gentle  winds 
of  the  south  fanned  them  with  their  welcoming 
breath,  and  heavy  wraps  began  to  feel  burdensome. 

At  first  the  girls  had  been  afraid  that  they  would 
become  seasick  and  had  wondered  what  they  would 
do  should  such  a  weakness  overtake  them. 

"I  know  I'll  just  lie  down  and  die,  if  I  get  sick 
on  this  steamer,"  Bess  had  declared. 

"Oh,  no,  you  won't,  Bess,"  Nan  had  made  reply. 
"You'll  do  as  everybody  else  has  to — grin  and  bear 
it." 

"But  to  be  sick  on  a  ship  that  is  rolling  and  pitch- 
ing all  the  time " 

"You  can  keep  in  your  berth,  you  know." 

"There  is  no  fun  in  that." 

"Then  go  on  deck — and  make  an  exhibition  of 
yourself." 

138 


A  Startling  Revelation  139 

"Nan  Sherwood,  I  think  that,  on  occasion,  you 
are  utterly  heartless." 

"So  are  you." 

"Oh,  I  see.  Trying  to  get  square  for  what  I  said 
about  Walter  Mason." 

"Not  at  all.    I  am  only " 

But  there  Nan  had  had  to  stop,  for  a  sudden  lurch 
of  the  steamer  had  thrown  her  against  the  wash- 
stand.  Bess  had  gone  sprawling  on  the  floor. 

"I — I  didn't  think  it  would  be  so  rough,"  Bess 
had  gasped  out,  on  arising. 

"I — I  don't  think  it  is  going  to  be  so  awful  bad," 
Nan  had  declared.  And  she  had  been  right.  By 
noon  of  the  second  day  the  sea  was  quite  smooth. 
Neither  of  the  girls  felt  a  bit  of  seasickness  and  both 
were  glad  to  go  on  deck  and  enjoy  the  sunshine. 

"What  a  change  since  yesterday,"  said  Bess,  as 
the  two  girls  stood  by  the  rail  looking  out  over  the 
lazily  rolling  water.  "It  seems  almost  like  magic, 
doesn't  it?" 

"It's  wonderful,"  breathed  Nan  happily.  "It 
seemed  so  silly  to  pack  all  my  summer  things  when 
the  wind  was  blowing  like  mad  and  it  was  ten  above 
zero  in  Tillbury.  But  now  I'm  mighty  glad  we  did. 
Whew,  isn't  this  coat  warm !" 

"Cheer  up,"  cried  Bess  gaily.  "Maybe  by  to-night 
it  will  be  so  warm  we  can  put  all  our  winter  things 
in  storage  and  blossom  out  in  silk  georgette  and 
white  flannels  like  veritable  butterflies  from  a  crys- 


140         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

tal — I  mean  chrysalis.  Nan,  are  you  listening  to 
me?"  she  demanded  severely,  for  Nan's  eyes  had 
deserted  the  long  line  of  lazy  combers  and  were  fol- 
lowing the  figures  of  two  men,  one  long  and  one 
short,  who  were  strolling  slowly  down  the  deck. 

"Bess,  do  you  see  those  men?"  asked  Nan,  with 
a  troubled  inflection  that  caused  Bess  to  look  at  her 
sharply. 

"Yes,  my  dear,"  she  answered.  "My  eyes  are  still 
in  good  working  condition." 

"Does  there  seem  anything  strange  about  them?" 
Nan  insisted.  "Anything  like  spying?" 

Bess  jumped  and  regarded  the  back  of  her  chum's 
head  reproachfully. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Nan!"  she  cried,  "you  are 
never  going  to  start  that  all  over  again,  are  you? 
I  thought  you  had  got  over  that  silly  notion  you 
had  of  being  followed." 

"I  wish  it  were  only  a  notion,  Bess,"  said  the  girl, 
turning  such  a  serious  face  to  her  chum  that  for  once 
even  careless  Bess  was  sobered. 

"Why,  Nan,  what  do  you  mean?"  she  asked. 
"You  can't  mean  that  there  is  really  somebody  spy- 
ing upon  you !" 

"That's  just  what  I  do  mean,"  said  Nan  soberly. 
"I  didn't  want  to  worry  you,  Bess,  so  I  didn't  tell 

you.    But  something  happened  last  night "    She 

stopped  suddenly,  for  the  two  men  were  coming 
back  again,  apparently  absorbed  in  conversation. 


(See  page  140) 


A  Startling  Revelation  141 

Presently  the  tall  man  and  his  short  companion 
passed  and  as  they  did  so  Nan  gave  each  a  searching 
look.  The  men  did  not  happen  to  see  the  girls,  and 
soon  were  out  of  sight  around  a  turn. 

"I  am  almost  sure  they  are  the  same,"  murmured 
Nan  and  her  face  was  a  study. 

"Nan,  you  talk  in  riddles!"  cried  her  chum. 
"What  does  it  mean?" 

"I'll  tell  you,  Bess,  even  though  I  don't  want  to 
frighten  you  still  more." 

And  thereupon  Nan  related  how  she  had  seen  two 
strange  men  near  her  home  and  at  the  local  drug- 
store and  the  railroad  station,  and  how  one  had 
stepped  up  as  if  to  speak  to  her  and  then  hurried 
away. 

"I  am  almost  sure  they  are  the  same,  and,  oh, 
Bess,  one  of  them  has  such  an  awful  look  in  his 
eyes !  I  am  sure  they  cannot  be  at  all  nice." 

"Humph !  That  is  certainly  strange,"  murmured 
Bess.  "I  guess  those  chaps  will  bear  watching. 
What  can  they  be  up  to,  do  you  think — watching 
your  house  and  following  you  like  that?" 

"I  haven't  finished.    Last  night " 

"Oh,  yes,  you  started  to  tell  about  last  night.  Go 
ahead — oh,  it's  so  exciting — just  like  a  movies !" 

"You  remember  we  went  down  to  the  dining-room 
together,"  Nan  went  on  in  a  low  tone,  "and  I  sud- 
denly remembered  that  we  had  forgotten  to  lock  the 
door.  I  was  a  little  frightened,  for  I  thought  of 


142         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Mrs.  Bragley's  papers  and  our  jewelry,  and  I  al- 
most ran  back. 

"Just  as  I  opened  the  door,"  Nan's  voice  quick- 
ened with  excitement  and  Bess  leaped  forward  eag- 
erly, "I  saw  a  shadow  on  the  glass  of  the  other  door 
— the  one  that  opens  upon  the  deck." 

"Why,  Nan!  are  you  sure?"  gasped  Bess,  catch- 
ing herself  up  quickly  to  add,  "Never  mind.  Don't 
bother  to  answer  me.  What  happened  next?" 

"Well,  for  a  minute  I  just  stood  there,"  said  Nan, 
her  eyes  searching  nervously  for  the  reappearance 
of  the  two  men  on  deck.  "I  guess  I  was  just  too 
surprised  or  frightened  to  speak,  for  the  shadow  on 
the  door  was  that  of  a  man,  and  he  was  trying  the 
door!" 

"Oh,  Nan,  what  did  you  do  ?"  demanded  her  wide- 
eyed  chum.  "I  should  just  have  screamed  and  run 
away." 

"A  lot  of  good  that  would  have  done,"  said  Nan, 
a  little  contemptuously.  "I  wanted  to  scream,  but 
I  didn't  think  of  running  away." 

"Of  course  you  wouldn't,"  said  Bess  humbly. 
"But  go  on,  Nan.  What  did  you  do?" 

"I  threw  a  bathrobe  over  my  grip  in  the  first 
place,"  said  Nan.  "I  had  left  it  standing  out  in 
the  room.  And  then  I  pulled  the  door  open  just  as 
the  man  started  to  open  it  from  the  outside." 

"Oh,  Nan!"  cried  Bess  again.  "Then  he  really 
meant  to  come  in?" 


A  Startling  Revelation  143 

"Of  course  he  did — although  he  said  he  didn't," 
said  Nan  grimly.  "When  I  pulled  the  door  open 
suddenly  and  stood  looking  at  him  he  acted  as  if  I 
was  a  ghost  or  something.  He  did  for  a  minute, 
that  is.  Then  he  straightened  up  and  sort  of  put 
on  a  smile — you  know,  the  way  you  would  put  on  a 
coat  to  cover  up  a  soiled  dress  or  something " 

"Why,  Nan,  I  never "  Bess  began  indig- 
nantly, then  interrupted  herself  again.  "Never  mind 
me,"  she  begged.  "You've  got  me  so  excited  that  I 
don't  know  just  what  I'm  saying.  What  happened 
then,  Nan?  Didn't  you  say  something?" 

"Of  course  I  said  something,"  returned  Nan.  "I 
asked  him  what  he  was  doing  at  my  stateroom  door 
and  what  he  wanted." 

"What  did  he  say?"  whispered  Bess,  her  eyes  wide 
in  wonder. 

"He  said  that  he  was  very  sorry.  That  he  thought 
this  was  his  stateroom.  That  he  wouldn't  have' 
startled  me  for  the  world.  And  then  he  bowed  him- 
self out  and  I  slammed  the  door  after  him." 

"But,  Nan,"  Bess  had  regained  her  breath  again 
and  felt  in  the  mood  for  an  argument,  "how  do  you 
know  that  the  man  really  hadn't  made  a  mistake? 
I  suppose  it  would  be  easy  enough  to  get  mixed  up." 

"Bess,  that  man  didn't  make  any  mistake,"  said 
Nan  Sherwood  with  such  conviction  in  her  voice 
that  once  more  Bess  was  startled. 

"How  do  you  know?" 


144         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"He  was  the  meanest  man  I  ever  saw — his  looks" 
I  mean,"  said  Nan,  apparently  not  noticing  her 
chum's  interruption.  "If  you  could  have  seen  him 
as  I  opened  the  door,  you  would  feel  just  the  way  I 
do.  He  had  probably  seen  us  going  down  to  dinner 
and  thought  it  was  a  good  chance  to  get  into  the 
stateroom  and  steal " 

"Steal !"  gasped  poor  Bess,  for  Nan  was  getting 
her  pretty  thoroughly  frightened.  "You  mean  he 
was  a  thief,  Nan  ?" 

"Of  course,"  Nan  returned  impatiently.  "I  don't 
suppose  honest  men  are  in  the  habit  of  sneaking  into 
empty  staterooms." 

"But  if  it  was  a  mistake "  Bess  interrupted, 

grasping  at  a  straw. 

"It  wasn't  any  mistake,"  Nan  repeated  gravely. 
"If  he  had  thought  it  was  his  own  door,  he  would 
have  opened  it  quickly.  He  wouldn't  have  been  so 
slow  and  cautious  about  it." 

"But,  Nan!  what  could  he  have  wanted  to  steal 
from  us?  It  isn't  as  though  we  had  one  of  those 
handsome  staterooms  down  below  that  cost  a  for- 
tune to  hire  even  for  a  night.  We  haven't  anything 
so  very  valuable." 

"Except  Mrs.  Bragley's  papers,"  said  Nan  grimly. 
"I  wonder  you  didn't  think  of  them." 

"Oh!"  said  Bess.  "The  papers!  Yes,  of  course 
there  were  the  papers.  Why,  Nan,"  she  turned 
upon  her  chum  excitedly,  "do  you  really  suppose 


A  Startling  Revelation  145 

they  can  be  as  important  as  that?  Why,  I  never 
dreamed " 

"I  know  you  didn't.  But  I  did,"  said  Nan  de- 
cidedly. She  then  added  under  her  breath  as  the 
two  men  turned  a  corner  and  again  headed  down 
the  deck  toward  them :  "Don't  say  anything.  Wait 
until  these  men  have  passed  and  then  look  at  them, 
the  tall,  thin  one  in  particular." 

Bess  was  about  to  exclaim,  but  Nan  silenced  her 
with  a  look  and  they  waited  quietly  while  the 
strangers  once  more  sauntered  past  them.  Evidently 
they  were  taking  a  prolonged  constitutional  about 
the  deck. 

Bess  stole  a  quick  glance  at  them  and  then  turned 
back  to  her  chum. 

"They  are  the  same  men  who  passed  us  just  a  little 
while  ago,"  she  said  with  a  puzzled  frown. 

"Yes.  And  one  of  them,  the  tall,  thin  one  with  a 
slit  for  a  mouth,  is  the  man  who  tried  to  enter  our 
stateroom,"  said  Nan  earnestly.  "I'm  just  telling 
you  this  so  that  you  will  be  more  careful  to  lock 
our  stateroom  door  whenever  you  go  in  or  out." 

"Goodness — Gracious — Agnes !"  gasped  Bess, 
mimicking  Procrastination  Boggs  in  her  agitation. 
"You  are  actually  making  me  nervous,  Nan  Sher- 
wood. Lock  the  door,  indeed !  As  if  we  were  afraid 
of  being  murdered  in  our  beds!  Why,  I  sha'n't 
sleep  a  wink  to-night.  I  never  heard  of  such  a 
thing." 


146         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"You  needn't  look  at  me  as  if  I  were  to  blame," 
said  Nan  with  spirit.  "I  didn't  ask  that  horrid  thin 
thing  and  his  little  fat  friend  to  follow  us  all  over 
and  nearly  give  me  heart  failure.  I'll  be  glad  when 
this  trip  is  over,  I'll  tell  you  that." 

"So  will  I,"  said  Bess  morosely.  "But  I'll  be 
gladder  still  when  you  get  rid  of  those  old  papers 
of  Mrs.  Bragley's — if  that  is  what  they  are  after." 

"The  one  thing  that  makes  me  feel  good,"  said 
Nan  thoughtfully,  as  if  speaking  to  herself,  "is  that 
the  papers  must  be  worth  something  or  these  horrid 
men  wouldn't  be  so  anxious  to  get  them  back. 
Maybe  we  shall  find  that  poor  Mrs.  Bragley  is  a 
rich  woman  yet." 

"Either  that,  or  else  that  we  have  made  a  big 
mistake  and  the  men  are  not  after  the  papers  at  all." 

"But  if  not  after  the  papers,  what?" 

"I  don't  know." 


CHAPTER  XIX 

\ 

AN    ATTEMPTED    THEFT 

THAT  night  the  girls  were  very  careful  to  lock 
both  doors  and  Bess  even  went  to  the  length  of 
suggesting  that  they  pile  some  furniture  against 
them. 

"It  might  be  a  good  idea,"  Nan  had  replied,  laugh- 
ing at  her,  "if  there  were  only  some  furniture  to 
pile.  What  are  you  doing,  Bess  ?  You  aren't  stuf- 
fing cotton  in  the  keyhole?" 

"You  needn't  laugh,  Miss  Smarty,"  Bess  had  re- 
torted, straightening  up  defiantly  with  a  large  wad 
of  the  cotton  still  in  her  hand  and  a  telltale  tuft  of 
it  protruding  from  the  keyhole.  "I'm  not  going  to 
have  any  skinny  old  man  with  a  funny  mouth  look- 
ing in  at  me  while  I  sleep,  I  can  tell  you!  Nan 
Sherwood,"  she  added  threateningly,  as  Nan  went 
off  into  a  gale  of  uncontrollable  mirth,  "if  you  don't 
stop  laughing,  I'll  stuff  the  rest  of  this  cotton  down 
your  throat,  and  I  just  hope  you'll  choke." 

"Oh,  Bess!  Elizabeth  Harley!"  gasped  Nan. 
"You  look  so  foolish  standing  there  with  that  wad 


148         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

of  cotton  in  your  hand.  And  the  keyholes  look  as 
if  they  had  the  earache.  Oh,  oh!"  and  she  went  off 
again  into  half  hysterical  laughter. 

Bess,  after  staring  at  her  a  minute,  gave  up  all 
attempt  at  being  dignified  and  joined  in  merrily. 

"Goodness !  you  would  make  an  Egyptian  mummy 
laugh,  Nan  Sherwood,"  said  Bess,  as  she  wiped 
away  the  tears  of  mirth.  "Who  ever  heard  of  key- 
holes having  the  earache! ,  Just  the  same,"  she  added 
more  soberly,  as  she  started  to  unfasten  her  dress, 
"you  have  got  me  terribly  worried  about  those  men. 
I  know  I'll  dream  of  them  all  night." 

"Oh,  no,  you  won't,"  said  Nan  serenely,  as  she  set 
about  the  business  of  undressing.  Then  she  added, 
with  a  chuckle:  "I  feel  perfectly  safe  now  that  the 
keyholes  are  stuffed!" 

It  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  two  girls  laid 
down  to  sleep.  But  Nan  was  restless  and  could 
hardly  close  her  eyes. 

"Those  old  papers,"  she  murmured  to  herself.  "I 
should  have  turned  them  over  to  Mr.  Mason,  or  put 
them  in  the  ship's  safe.  I  don't  see  why  I  make  my- 
self keep  them,  unless  it  is  that  I  want  to  prove  to 
myself  that  I  have  some  backbone." 

Presently  she  heard  Bess  breathing  heavily,  show- 
ing her  chum  was  in  the  land  of  slumber,  and  then 
gradually  she  dozed  off. 

Nan  had  been  asleep  about  an  hour  when  she 
awoke  with  a  start. 


An  Attempted  Theft  149 

She  had  heard  a  noise,  of  that  she  felt  certain — 
a  noise  out  of  the  ordinary  and  not  connected  with 
the  running  of  the  ship. 

What  was  it  ?    Was  somebody  trying  the  door  ? 

She  turned  over  and,  feeling  for  the  push  button, 
turned  on  the  electric  light.  This  move  awakened 
Bess. 

"What's  the  matter,  are  you  sick?"  asked  the 
latter. 

"No.  I — I  heard  something — it  woke  me  up," 
Nan  replied  and  got  to  her  feet. 

"Maybe  those  men " 

"Hush !  If  they  are  outside  the  aoor  they  may 
hear  you,  Bess." 

With  caution  the  two  girls  tiptoed  to  first  one  door 
and  then  the  other  and  peered  out. 

In  the  cabin  only  a  porter  sleeping  in  an  arm- 
chair was  to  be  seen,  while  out  on  the  deck  not  a  soul 
was  in  sight. 

"You  must  have  been  dreaming,  Nan,"  said  Bess, 
yawning.  "Come,  let  us  try  to  get  some  more  rest 
before  morning." 

Nan  was  not  satisfied  and  looked  all  around  the 
stateroom,  thinking  a  mouse  might  be  wandering 
around.  But  no  mouse  was  found,  and  at  last  both 
girls  retired  again.  But  Nan  did  not  sleep  very  well 
and  was  glad  when  the  rising  sun  proclaimed  an- 
other day  at  hand. 

Nan,  swinging  one  bare  foot  experimentally  over 


150 

the  edge  of  her  berth,  felt  it  caught  and  held  tight 
by  an  invisible  hand.  She  peered  over  the  edge  of 
the  berth  at  the  imminent  risk  of  falling  over  her- 
herself  and  breaking  her  neck,  and  found,  as  she 
had  expected,  that  Bess  was  her  captor.  The  latter 
was  holding  on  to  her  foot  with  one  hand  and  rub- 
bing her  eyes  sleepily  with  the  other. 

"Say,  let  go  my  foot,"  Nan  hailed  her  inelegantly. 
"Haven't  you  got  enough  of  your  own  that  you  have 
to  steal  one  of  mine?" 

"You  talk  as  if  we  were  centipedes,"  said  Bess, 
releasing  Nan's  foot  and  sitting  up  grumpily  in  the 
berth.  "I  told  you  I  wouldn't  sleep  a  wink  last  night, 
and  I  didn't." 

"You  aren't  the  only  one,"  said  Nan,  as  she 
swung  her  other  foot  over  the  edge  of  the  berth 
and  felt  gingerly  for  a  footing  on  the  one  below. 
"I  didn't  sleep  very  well  myself.  But  never  mind," 
she  added,  as  she  slipped  safely  to  the  floor,  un- 
harmed by  her  perilous  descent.  "We'll  forget  all 
about  such  little  things  as  sleepless  nights  when  we 
get  out  on  deck.  Have  you  forgotten  that  we  reach 
Florida  to-day?" 

Bess  stared  at  her  a  minute,  then  scrambled 
quickly  out  of  bed  and  began  pulling  on  her  clothes 
hastily,  getting  them  awry  in  her  eagerness  to  get 
dressed  in  the  shortest  time  possible. 

"Gracious,  Nan,"  she  cried  reproachfully,  as  she 
began  to  drag  the  comb  impatiently  through  her 


An  Attempted  Theft  151 

tumbled  curls,  "you  scared  me  so  with  those  men 
and  Mrs.  Bragley's  horrible  papers  that  I  forgot 
everything  else.  Fancy!  A  few  hours  more  and 
we  shall  be  in  Florida!" 

Immediately  this  thought  put  all  other  thoughts  to 
flight  in  the  mind  of  careless  but  lovable  Bess  Har- 
ley,  and  she  would  have  left  the  door  of  their  state- 
room wide  open  had  not  Nan  reminded  her  to  close 
it  and  turn  the  key  in  the  lock. 

The  girls  ate  breakfast  hurriedly,  and  when  they 
came  out  on  deck  it  was  after  eight  o'clock.  That 
gave  them  just  time  to  pack  their  few  belongings  be- 
fore the  Dorian  steamed  up  the  St.  Johns  River 
into  the  busy  harbor  of  Jacksonville. 

Bess's  prediction  had  come  true.  Over  night  the 
weather  had  become  so  delightfully  mild  that  heavy 
clothing  was  not  only  unnecessary,  but  very  uncom- 
fortable, and  the  girls  had  donned  white  suits  and 
white  hats  with  stockings  and  shoes  to  match.  They 
were  looking  distinctly  attractive — and  knew  it.  At 
least  Bess  did.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  even 
modest  Nan  had  been  surprised  and  not  a  little 
pleased  by  her  radiant  reflection  in  the  tiny  mirror 
in  their  stateroom. 

And  now,  though  they  knew  that  the  last  minute 
packing  should  be  done  first,  they  still  lingered  by 
the  rail,  gazing  over  the  brilliantly  calm  water  to 
where  the  tropically  beautiful  Florida  coast  stood  out 
boldly  against  the  skyline. 


152          Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"What  wonderful,  wonderful  weather!"  sighed 
Nan,  as  they  finally  deserted  the  rail  and  made  their 
way  through  the  excited  crowd — for  nearly  every 
one  on  board  the  Dorian  had  come  out  on  deck,  clad 
in  white  flannels  and  other  summery  attire,  eager  to 
get  their  first  glimpse  of  Florida — and  on  toward 
their  stateroom. 

Suddenly  Nan  clutched  her  friend's  arm  and 
pointed  excitedly. 

"Look !"  she  cried  in  a  low  voice.  "The  tall  man ! 
He's  there  with  the  fat  one  in  front  of  our  door. 
And,  Bess,  look!  He  has  something  in  his  hand. 
It's  a  key!" 

"Oh,  Nan!"  gasped  Bess,  "he  would  never  dare. 
Not  in  this  crowd !" 

"Come  on!"  ejaculated  Nan  tensely,  as  she  el- 
bowed and  pushed  her  way  through  the  crowd. 

The  two  girls  were  almost  upon  the  thin  man  and 
his  companion  before  they  were  discovered.  Then 
the  fat  man  nudged  his  friend  sharply,  and  before 
the  girls  could  blink  the  men  had  slipped  around  the 
corner  of  the  cabin  and  were  lost  to  view  among  the 
crowd. 

"Let's  go  after  them,"  cried  Bess  excitedly.  "We 
mustn't  let  them  get  away  from  us,  Nan.  Why, 
they  were  trying  to  get  into  our  room.  I  saw  them." 

"Oh,  Bess,  hush,"  begged  Nan  as  several  people 
turned  to  look  at  the  girls  curiously.  "Come  inside 
a  minute.  I  want  to  talk  to  you." 


An  Attempted  Theft  153 

She  opened  the  door  and  half  pushed,  half 
dragged  the  excited  Bess  inside  the  stateroom  where 
the  latter  sank  upon  the  berth  and  stared  at  her 
friend  indignantly. 

"You've  gone  and  let  them  get  away,"  she  ac- 
cused her  hotly.  "And  that  ugly  thin  man  was  try- 
ing to  get  in.  We  saw  him." 

"I  know  all  that,"  said  Nan  a  trifle  impatiently. 
For  several  days  her  nerves  had  been  under  a  con- 
siderable strain  and  the  effort  to  think  and  act  for 
Bess  as  well  as  herself  was  beginning  to  tell  on  her. 
"It  wouldn't  have  done  us  the  slightest  good  in  the 
world  to  have  gone  after  him.  We  never  could 
have  found  him." 

"But  we  can  at  least  tell  the  captain,"  returned 
Bess,  jumping  to  her  feet  impatiently.  "I  never 
saw  a  girl  like  you,  Nan.  I  really  believe  you  in- 
tend to  let  him  get  away." 

"Well,  what  else  can  I  do?"  asked  Nan  quietly. 
"If  I  go  to  the  captain  and  tell  him  I  found  a  couple 
of  men  standing  in  front  of  my  door  and  that  I 
want  them  arrested,  he  will  think  that  I'm  crazy." 

"But  they  had  a  key!  They  were  trying  to  get 
in !  We  saw  them !"  insisted  Bess,  pacing  excitedly 
up  and  down  the  small  stateroom. 

"I  know  we  did,"  said  Nan  patiently.  "But  the 
captain  could  never  arrest  the  men  on  such  evidence. 
He  would  want  proof.  And  you  know  as  well  as 
I  do  that  we  haven't  any." 


154         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"We-el,"  said  Bess  irresolutely,  sitting  down  on 
the  edge  of  the  berth  and  staring  blackly  at  the  op- 
posite wall,  "I  suppose  you  are  right,  Nan  Sher- 
wood. You  usually  are.  But  I  do  know  one  thing." 
She  stirred  impatiently  and  mechanically  straight- 
ened her  pretty  white  hat.  "And  that  is  that  I  won't 
enjoy  myself  one  bit  till  we  make  those  men  stop 
following  us  around  and  trying  to  get  into  our  room 
with  skeleton  keys.  I  suppose  that  is  what  he  had. 
Oh,  dear,  it  does  seem  as  if  something  were  always 
happening  to  take  the  joy  out  of  life !" 

Nan  ventured  a  shaky  little  laugh  at  this  and  be- 
gan automatically  picking  up  her  things  and  stuffing 
them  into  her  bag. 

"You  had  better  get  ready,  Bess,"  she  advised. 
"We  shall  reach  Jacksonville  in  a  little  while.  We 
don't  want  to  be  left  behind." 

"I  should  say  not!"  said  Bess  vehemently.  "I 
wouldn't  stay  on  this  old  boat  another  night  after 
what  happened  this  morning — not  for  anything.  I 
hope,"  she  added,  as  she  slammed  her  brush  into  her 
suitcase,  "that  we  sha'n't  see  any  more  of  those  hor- 
rid men  after  we  once  get  on  shore." 

"I  hope  we  sha'n't."  Nan  echoed  the  wish  fer- 
vently, but  in  her  heart  she  was  very  sure  that  they 
had  not  seen  the  last  of  the  tall,  thin  man  and  his 
chubby  companion. 

That  they  were  after  the  papers  that  had  been 
entrusted  to  her  care  by  poor,  confiding  Sarah  Brag- 


An  Attempted  Theft  155 

ley,  she  had  little  doubt.  And  the  fact  that  whoever 
these  men  were,  they  were  desperately  anxious  to 
recover  the  papers  showing  the  widow's  title  to  the 
tract  of  land  in  Florida,  fostered  Nan's  belief  that 
the  property  must  be  of  considerable  value  and  auto- 
matically strengthened  her  determination  to  hold 
on  to  the  papers  at  all  cost. 

She  was  so  engrossed  with  her  own  thoughts  that 
Bess  had  to  speak  to  her  twice  before  she  could 
bring  her  back  to  a  realization  of  the  present. 

"Hurry  up,"  she  cried,  handing  Nan  her  suit- 
case and  fairly  pushing  her  out  on  the  deck.  "From 
the  noise  everybody  is  making,  I  guess  we're  there. 
For  goodness'  sake,  Nan!"  she  exclaimed  as  her 
chum  switched  her  suitcase  from  one  hand  to  the 
other,  so  that  it  would  be  between  Bess  and  herself, 
"don't  bump  that  bag  into  me — especially  right  be- 
hind the  knees.  You  are  apt  to  make  me  sit  down 
suddenly." 

"You  couldn't.  There's  too  much  of  a  crowd," 
laughed  Nan,  then  added  in  a  lower  tone,  while  her 
eyes  nervously  searched  the  crowd  about  her: 
"Please  help  me  to  look  out  for  my  bag,  honey.  I'm 
awfully  afraid  I  might  lose  it." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THOSE   MEN   AGAIN 

THE  two  girls  saw  nothing  more  of  the  men  who 
had  played  such  a  mysterious  part  in  their  trip,  and 
before  they  had  started,  with  hundreds  of  other 
gaily  dressed  people,  down  the  gangplank  of  the 
Dorian  they  had  almost  forgotten  their  strange  ad- 
venture. 

Nor,  under  the  circumstances,  could  this  be  won- 
dered at.  All  about  them  was  the  bustle  and 
excitement  that  is  always  attendant  upon  going 
ashore. 

Every  one  was  in  hilarious  holiday  mood,  and 
Nan  and  Bess  would  have  been  queer  indeed  if  they 
had  not  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  day  with  all 
their  hearts. 

"I  just  can't  keep  my  feet  still,"  Bess  confided  to 
her  chum,  as  they  filed  slowly  down  the  gangplank. 
"Isn't  this  the  most  wonderful  day  you  ever  saw  in 
your  life,  Nan?  Just  think,  this  kind  of  weather  in 
February!  It  does  me  good,"  she  added,  her  eyes 
sparkling,  "to  think  of  all  the  other  girls  at  home 
going  around  with  furs  on  and  thick  coats  and  com- 

156 


Those  Men  Again  157 

plaining  of  the  cold.  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  see- 
them  now." 

"Elizabeth!  what  a  mean  disposition,"  said  Nan 
demurely,  adding  with  a  twinkle  in  her  eyes,  while 
she  tried  hard  to  keep  her  feet  from  fox-trotting 
away  with  her  down  the  gangplank:  "Though  I 
would  like  to  send  a  little  note  to  Linda  and  tell  her 
to  be  careful  not  to  go  out  in  the  cold.  It  might 
make  her  nose  red.  Oh,  Bess,  look  down  there!" 
She  leaned  forward  suddenly,  her  eyes  shining  with 
eagerness.  "Isn't  that  Grace?  And  Walter " 

"And  Rhoda !  Yes,  it  is,  and  they  are  waving  to- 
us,"  cried  Bess  eagerly.  "Of  course  Grace  and 
Walter  said  they  would  be  here  to  meet  us,  but  I  was 
afraid  they  never  would  find  us  in  all  this  crowd." 

Someway  the  girls  got  down  to  the  dock,  were 
hugged  by  Grace  and  Rhoda,  greeted  hilariously  by 
Walter,  and  were  hustled,  out  of  breath,  through 
the  crowd  that  thronged  about  them. 

"How  in  the  world  did  you  get  here,  Rhoda?" 
demanded  Nan,  when  she  could  get  a  chance  to  ask 
the  question. 

"I  thought  I'd  surprise  you,"  declared  the  girl 
from  Rose  Ranch.  "I  fixed  it  all  up  with  Grace  and 
told  her  not  to  say  a  word." 

"It's  grand!"  declared  Nan,  beaming. 

"The  best  ever,"  added  Bess.  "Oh,  what  grand 
times  we  girls  are  going  to  have !" 

"Sure  we  are  going  to  have  a  grand  time,"  said 


158         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch.  "I  think  I  deserve  it, 
after  all  the  trouble  I've  been  through." 

"What  do  you  suppose,  she  was  in  a  railroad 
wreck,"  burst  out  Grace.  "A  real,  live-to-goodness 
wreck,  too." 

"Oh,  Rhoda,  were  you  injured?"  cried  Nan 
quickly. 

"Just  a  few  scratches — on  my  left  elbow  and  my 
shins.  But  it  was  a  close  call,  I  can  tell  you." 

"Where  was  it?"  asked  Bess. 

"Out  in  Connecticut.  I  went  there  to  visit  a  dis- 
tant relative  of  my  dad.  It  was  a  little  side  line  and 
our  train  ran  into  a  freight.  We  knocked  open  a 
car  full  of  chickens  and  what  do  you  think?  Those 
chickens  scattered  far  and  wide.  I'll  bet  many  a 
family  is  having  chicken  dinner  on  the  sly  this 
week!" 

"Then  nobody  was  hurt?" 

"Oh,  yes,  several  were  more  or  less  bruised  and 
one  man  had  an  arm  broken.  But  everybody  was 
thankful,  for  they  said  it  might  have  been  much 
worse.  But  it  certainly  was  funny  to  see  those 
chickens  scattering  in  every  direction  over  the  snow- 
covered  fields,"  and  Rhoda  laughed  at  the  recollec- 
tion. 

"Gee,  if  a  fellow  had  been  there  with  a  gun  he 
might  have  had  some  hunting,"  cried  Walter. 

"Oh,  Walter,  you  wouldn't  hunt  chickens  with  a 
gun,  would  you  ?"  asked  Nan,  reproachfully. 


Those  Men  Again  159 

"Don't  know  as  I  would,"  was  the  quick  reply. 

"Oh,  but  now  we  are  together,  won't  we  have 
lovely  times,"  cried  Bess. 

"The  very  best  ever,"  echoed  Nan. 

"Going  to  let  me  out?"  demanded  Walter. 

"No,  indeed,  Walter,  you  are  included." 

The  girls  and  Walter  continued  to  compare  notes 
when  all  of  a  sudden  Rhoda  uttered  a  cry. 

"Girls,  am  I  seeing  a  ghost?"  she  asked,  staring 
straight  ahead  of  her  toward  a  group  of  richly 
dressed  people  who  were  talking  and  laughing  to- 
gether. "Or  is  that  Linda  Riggs?" 

"Goodness,  don't  say  it,  Rhoda!"  cried  Bess  in 
dismay.  "It  can't  be  Linda!" 

But  it  was!  For  at  that  moment  the  youngest 
of  the  much  overdressed  women  in  the  group  turned 
with  a  laugh  to  speak  to  someone  behind  her,  and 
the  girls  found  themselves  face  to  face  with  their 
schoolgirl  enemy,  Linda  Riggs. 

For  all  their  dislike  of  the  girl,  the  chums  would 
have  spoken  to  her.  But  Linda  stared  at  them  coolly 
for  a  second,  and  then  deliberately  turned  her  back 
upon  them  and  began  to  speak  to  a  tall,  gray-haired 
man  at  her  right,  who  the  girls  instinctively  felt 
must  be  her  father,  the  railroad  president. 

"Those  young  ladies  seemed  to  know  you,  my 
dear,"  they  heard  the  tall  man  say  to  Linda,  as, 
flushed  and  indignant,  the  girls  and  Walter  pressed 
on  through  the  crowd. 


160         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"They  do,"  they  heard  Linda  answer  contemptu- 
ously, and  with  no  attempt  to  lower  her  voice.  "But 
I  prefer  not  to  know  them — especially  that  Sher- 
wood girl." 

What  the  tall  man  said  in  answer,  the  girls  could 
not  hear,  for  they  were  once  more  engulfed  in  a  sea 
of  chattering  humanity  whose  din  swallowed  up  all 
individual  sound. 

Impulsive  Bess  wanted  to  turn  back  and  tell  "that 
horrible  Riggs  girl"  what  she  thought  of  her,  but 
Nan  put  an  arm  about  her  angry  chum  and  hurried 
lier  on. 

"But,  Nan,  I  don't  see  how  you  can  stand  such 
things  and  never  say  a  word,"  cried  Bess,  indig- 
nantly. "I  do  believe  you  haven't  any  spirit.  I 
never  could  take  an  insult  like  that  so  calmly." 

"I'm  not  a  bit  calm,"  replied  Nan,  gripping  her 
bag  fiercely.  "Right  this  minute,  I'd  like  to  get  hold 
of  Linda  Riggs  and  tear  her  hair  out  by  the 
roots." 

"Why  didn't  you  do  it  then?"  demanded  excited 
Bess,  and  at  this  query  even  Walter,  who  had  been 
more  incensed  than  any  of  the  girls  at  the  insolent 
speech  of  Linda's,  had  to  laugh. 

"Yes,  I  would  look  pretty,  wouldn't  I?"  laughed 
Nan,  all  her  wrath  vanishing  on  the  instant,  al- 
though her  dislike  of  purse-proud  Linda  was  more 
real  than  ever,  "announcing  my  arrival  in  Jackson- 
ville by  a  street  fight?" 


Those  Men  Again  161 

"You  would  look  pretty  any  way — even  pulling 
Linda's  hair  out,"  laughed  Walter  in  her  ear. 

"Please  don't  be  foolish,  Walter,"  returned  Nan 
loftily,  at  which,  for  some  unaccountable  reason, 
Walter  only  chuckled  the  more. 

The  speech  and  the  chuckle  troubled  Nan.  It 
seemed  in  some  ridiculous  fashion  to  bear  out  the 
silly  things  Bess  had  said  about  her  and  Walter 
earlier  in  the  trip. 

She  forgot  all  about  her  perplexity  a  few  moments 
later,  however,  when  Walter  helped  Nan  and  Bess 
and  Grace  into  the  roomy  tonneau  of  his  big  car,  put 
Rhoda  in  the  front  seat,  squeezed  himself  in  behind 
the  wheel,  and  started  the  motor. 

"Well,  how  do  you  like  Jacksonville,  girls?"  he 
called  back  to  them  as  the  machine  glided  easily 
forward.  "As  good  as  Tillbury,  is  it?"  he  added, 
with  a  glance  at  Nan  and  Bess. 

"Not  nearly,"  answered  Bess  loyally,  although  in 
her  heart  she  knew  that  they  could  put  two  or 
three  Tillburys  in  Jacksonville  and  never  miss 
them. 

The  girls  had  known  in  a  rather  vague  way  that 
Jacksonville  was  a  big  place,  but  they  had  never 
expected  to  see  anything  like  the  bustling,  thriving, 
wide-awake  city  they  now  drove  through. 

"Why,  it  is  almost  as  noisy  and  crowded  as  New 
York,"  said  Bess,  wide-eyed,  as  Walter  skilfully 
threaded  his  way  through  the  heavy  traffic.  "And 


1 62         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

we  thought  that  was  simply  awful.    Walter,  please 
be  careful." 

"Don't  worry,"  Walter  sang  back,  grazing  the 
rear  wheel  of  another  machine  by  the  very  narrow- 
est margin  possible.  "If  we  did  hit  anything,  we 
wouldn't  be  the  ones  to  get  hurt.  This  old  bus  could 
stop  an  express  train." 

"Maybe  it  could,"  retorted  Bess.  "But  please 
try  it  some  time  when  you  are  alone." 

"Don't  mind  him,"  said  Grace,  with  her  quiet 
smile.  "You  know  Walter  never  does  all  he  says." 

"Don't   I   though "    Walter  was   beginning, 

when  his  sister  cut  him  off  by  turning  eagerly  to 
Nan  and  Bess. 

"We're  stopping  at  the  Hampton,"  she  said,  the 
Hampton  being  one  of  the  largest  and  most  import- 
ant of  all  the  large  and  important  hotels  in  Jack- 
sonville. "Mother  has  engaged  a  perfectly  lovely 
room  for  you  girls.  Rhoda  and  I  room  together.  It 
is  just  for  one  night,  you  know,  for  we  are  going 
to  take  the  train  for  Palm  Beach  to-morrow 
morning." 

"Then,"  cried  Nan,  happily,  "we  shall  have  all  the 
rest  of  to-day  to  do  as  we  please  in." 

"What  bliss,"  breathed  Bess.  "Walter,  you  are 
going  to  be  a  perfect  angel,  aren't  you,  and  take  us 
for  a  lovely  long,  long  ride  ?" 

"At  your  service,  fair  damsel,"  said  Walter  gal- 
lantly. "We  were  planning  that  anyway,"  he  went 


Those  Men  Again  163 

on  to  explain.  "Mother  and  dad  thought  they  would 
like  to  come  along,  too." 

"More  bliss,"  cried  Bess,  adding,  as  a  cloud  sud- 
denly darkened  her  face :  "I  do  hope  we  don't  run 
across  Linda  any  more.  I  declare,  if  I  ever  hear 
her  say  another  word  against  you,  Nancy  Sherwood, 
I  shall  just  have  to  kill  her,  that's  all." 

"Well,  I  must  say  I  do  wish  she  would  stay  home 
where  she  belongs,"  said  Nan  with  a  troubled  frown. 
"Wherever  we  go  she  seems  sure  to  turn  up  and 
spoil  everything — or  try  to.  I  wonder  if  Cora  is 
with  her,"  she  added.  "I  didn't  see  her  at  the  dock." 

"Humph,  you  don't  think  she  would  be  at  the 
dock,  do  you?"  asked  Walter,  joining  in  the  con- 
versation. "Cora  is  a  regular  lady's  maid  to  Linda 
now,  so  Grace  says.  She  must  be  a  funny  kind  of 
girl  to  stand  for  that  sort  of  thing." 

"Oh,  Cora  isn't  so  bad,"  said  Nan.  "I  imagine 
she  would  like  to  break  away  from  Linda,  but  she 
doesn't  know  just  how  to  do  it.  Is  this  where  we 
get  out,  Walter  ?"  she  asked,  as  the  car  slowed  down 
before  a  building  that  looked  more  like  a  palace  than 
a  hotel. 

"This  is  where  we  get  out,"  replied  Walter,  jump- 
ing from  his  seat  and  running  around  to  open  the 
door  for  the  girls.  "Right  this  way,  ladies.  Fol- 
low me  and  you'll  wear  diamonds.  Here,  boy!"  he 
spoke  to  a  loitering  colored  boy  who  stood  at  the 
hotel  entrance.  "Carry  these  grips  up  to  three- 


164         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

twenty.  The  hat  boxes,  too.  I  suppose  you  want 
the  hat  boxes,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  girls  with  a 
grin. 

"Well,  I  should  say!"  replied  Bess.  "Neither 
Nan  nor  I  would  ever  smile  again  if  we  should  lose 
one  of  those  hats.  Would  we,  Nan  ?" 

But  Nan  was  looking  behind  her  with  startled 
eyes  and  never  even  heard  her  friend's  question. 

"Walter!"  she  cried,  grasping  the  boy's  arm  and 
pointing  excitedly  down  the  street,  "do  you  see  those 
men  over  there  getting  out  of  that  taxi?  Quick! 
They  are  turning  into  that  hotel." 

"The  little  fat  fellow  and  the  long,  thin  man?" 
asked  Walter,  with  a  mystified  line  between  his 
brows.  "What  about  them?  Friends  of  yours?" 

"Take  a  good  look  at  them,"  Nan  cried,  impa- 
tiently shaking  his  arm,  while  Grace  and  Rhoda 
looked  on  in  amazement.  "If  you  should  see  them 
again,  I  want  you  should  know  them." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE   BEGINNING   OF   ROMANCE 

WALTER  was  frankly  bewildered  by  this  time. 
But  he  obediently  took  a  long  look  at  the  short,  fat 
man  and  the  long,  thin  one.  Then,  as  they  disap- 
peared around  a  corner,  he  turned  back  to  Nan  and 
led  her  toward  the  hotel  entrance. 

"Why,  Nan,  you  are  trembling,"  he  said,  as  they 
followed  the  colored  boy  through  a  handsome  court- 
yard and  between  rows  of  beautiful  palm  trees.  "I 
never  knew  you  to  be  like  this  before.  What's  the 
matter?  If  either  of  those  men  have  bothered  you," 
he  added,  glowering  fiercely,  "I'll  wring  their  necks." 

Nan  gave  a  funny  little  hysterical  laugh  at  this, 
and  the  laugh  helped  to  steady  her  after  the  shock 
she  had  had  at  the  unexpected  reappearance  of  the 
two  men. 

"I  don't  want  you  to  wring  anybody's  neck,"  she 
said,  as  they  passed  through  another  big  door  and 
stopped  before  an  elevator.  "Only  please,  Walter," 
she  looked  up  at  him  appealingly,  "watch  out  for 
them  and  let  me  know  if  you  see  them  again.  They 
are  following  us." 

165 


1 66         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Walter's  bewilderment  was  beginning  to  change 
to  alarm,  and  he  would  have  demanded  to  know  all 
about  the  strange  affair  at  once,  had  not  the  three 
girls  come  up  to  them  at  that  minute. 

On  the  ride  up  to  the  third  floor  of  the  hotel, 
where  the  room  engaged  for  Nan  and  Bess  was  lo- 
cated, Grace  reminded  Nan  of  nothing  so  much  as 
a  human  interrogation  mark. 

She  fairly  besieged  the  girl  from  Tillbury  with 
questions,  which  would  have  been  very  embarrass- 
ing to  poor  Nan  had  not  Rhoda  interposed  in  her 
behalf. 

"I  don't  suppose  Nan  wants  to  tell  us  about  it 
now,  Grace,"  she  said.  "Let's  wait  till  we  get  up- 
stairs." 

Whereupon  Grace  was  silenced  temporarily.  As 
for  Bess,  she  was  nearly  as  disturbed  as  her  chum, 
and  the  journey  up  to  the  third  floor  seemed  in- 
terminable. 

They  reached  it,  however,  and  the  girls  stepped 
out  into  a  handsome  corridor  and  were  preceded 
by  the  velvet-footed  bellboy  past  interminable  closed 
doors,  to  be  stopped  finally  before  one  particular 
door,  closed  like  the  rest,  but  evidently  belonging, 
for  the  space  of  a  day  and  night  at  least,  to  Nan 
and  Bess. 

Walter  dismissed  the  boy  with  a  tip,  and,  drawing 
a  long  key  from  his  pocket,  inserted  it  in  the  door. 
A  moment  more  and  they  had  stepped  into  a  beauti- 


The  Beginning  of  Romance  167 

ful  room,  all  blue  and  gold,  and  with  deep,  lacily 
curtained  windows  and  twin  beds  set  over  in  one 
corner,  with  a  small  table  and  a  reading  lamp  beside 
each  one. 

If  the  girls  had  not  been  used  to  handsome  sur- 
roundings, the  beauty  of  the  room  might  have  over- 
whelmed them  a  little.  As  it  was,  they  were  merely 
delighted. 

Walter  set  the  bags  and  hat  boxes  inside  the  door 
for  them,  and  then  turned  to  Nan,  who  was  re,- 
garding  her  own  particular  bag  with  a  disturbed 
little  frown. 

"I  don't  know  what  the  matter  is,  Nan,"  he  said 
in  a  low  voice.  "But  if  there  is  anything  about  those 
men  you  don't  like  I'll  see  that  they  don't  worry 
you." 

"Thank  you,  Walter.  You're  a  dear,"  said  Nan 
gratefully.  "I'll  tell  you  all  about  it  just  as  soon 
as  I  can.  And  you  really  can  help  me,  Walter,  if 
you  want  to." 

"I'll  say  I  do,"  returned  Walter  boyishly.  "See 
you  later,"  and  he  went  out  quickly,  closing  the  door 
behind  him. 

As  Nan  turned  back  into  the  room  she  found  Bess 
regarding  her  with  a  mischievous  little  smile  that 
said  as  plainly  as  words :  "What  did  I  tell  you, 
Nan  Sherwood?" 

Nan  felt  unreasonably  angry,  but  she  was  not 
given  very  much  time  to  nurse  the  feeling.  Grace 


1 68         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

was  upon  her  like  a  young  whirlwind,  dragging  her 
over  to  one  of  the  beds  and  demanding  in  no  un- 
certain tone  what  she  had  to  say  in  explanation  of 
her  queer  conduct  a  few  minutes  before.  Rhoda  sat 
down  on  the  other  side  of  Nan,  her  face  eagerly 
flushed. 

"I  never  was  so  curious  in  my  life,  Nan  Sher- 
wood," she  said.  "Hurry  up  and  tell  us  all  about 
it." 

Nan  obediently  went  over  the  whole  story.  She 
told  where  she  was  carrying  Mrs.  Bragley's  papers, 
and  of  her,  Nan's,  strange  impression  of  being 
watched  ever  since  the  papers  had  come  into  her 
possession. 

Then  while  Grace  and  Rhoda's  eyes  became  wider 
and  wider  she  told  of  the  two  men  they  had  met  on 
the  boat  and  the  tall  one's  evident  desire  to  get  into 
their  cabin,  for  some  reason  known  only  to  himself. 
And  lastly  she  related  how  on  that  very  morning 
they  had  found  the  mysterious  men  in  suspicious 
proximity  to  their  stateroom  again  and  how  the 
two  had  disappeared  upon  catching  sight  of  the 
girls. 

"Why,  it's  a  regular  mystery!"  Grace  cried  eag- 
erly, and  Bess  turned  away  from  the  mirror  where 
she  .was  fixing  her  hair  and  looked  at  her.  "A  real 
mystery !" 

"You  speak  as  if  you  liked  it,"  she  said  impa- 
tiently. "It  is  lots  of  fun,  I  must  say,  to  have  Nan 


The  Beginning  of  Romance:  169 

so  worked  up  and  nervous  all  the  time  that  you  can't 
say  boo  to  her  without  making  her  jump.  If  those 
old  men  don't  get  arrested  or  something  pretty 
soon,"  she  added,  turning  back  to  the  mirror,  "I'll 
have  to  do  something  desperate,  that's  all." 

"Please  don't,"  said  Nan,  with  a  laugh.  "Enough 
is  happening,  goodness  knows,  without  you  starting 
something,  too.  Oh,  come  on,  girls,"  she  added, 
jumping  up  and  flinging  off  her  hat  and  coat.  "I'll 
find  out  something  definite  about  Mrs.  Bragley's 
property  before  long,  I  hope,  and  then  I'll  be  able 
to  get  rid  of  these  horrid  old  papers.  In  the  mean- 
time, here  we  are  in  Jacksonville,  and  to-morrow  we 
start  for  Palm  Beach  and  everything  is  wonderful 
and  lovely.  Who's  that?"  A  tap  had  sounded  on 
the  door  and  the  girls  started.  "You  open  it,  Bess. 
I  have  my  hands  full." 

"Goodness !  did  you  see  me  jump  then?"  Bess  de- 
manded grumpily.  "I'll  be  as  bad  as  Nan  before 
you  know  it." 

The  visitor  proved  to  be  no  one  more  formidable 
than  Grace's  mother,  and  as  the  girls  were  very  fond 
of  her,  they  greeted  her  with  literally  open  arms. 

Of  course  Grace  had  to  recount  to  her  all  over 
again  the  story  Nan  had  told  her  and  Rhoda,  and 
before  she  finished  Mrs.  Mason  was  looking  rather 
grave. 

"It  certainly  does  look  as  though  those  papers  of 
yours  were  important,  Nan,"  she  said.  "That  is  evi- 


170         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

dently  what  the  rascals  are  after.  I'll  tell  Mr. 
Mason,  if  you  say  so " 

"Oh,  yes,"  Nan  put  in  eagerly. 

"And  between  us  we  ought  to  solve  the  mystery — 
if  there  is  one." 

"If  there  is  one!"  Grace  exclaimed  indignantly. 
"Well,  I  never!" 

"Come,  dear,"  Mrs.  Mason  merely  said,  "I  know 
Nan  and  Bess  must  be  a  little  tired  after  their  trip, 
and  they  will  just  have  time  to  rest  for  an  hour  and 
freshen  up  before  lunch." 

She  led  the  reluctant  Grace  from  the  room.  With 
a  laughing  word  Rhoda  followed  them,  and  the 
chums  were  left  alone. 

That  afternoon  they  went  out  right  after  lunch  to 
see  Jacksonville.  The  Mason's  car  was  waiting  for 
them  outside  as  they  stepped  out  upon  the  sidewalk 
in  front  of  the  hotel,  but  Nan  was  surprised  to  find 
Mr.  Mason  instead  of  the  lawyer's  son  behind  the 
wheel. 

And  then  she  saw  Walter!  He  was  in  a  beauti- 
ful, brand  new  little  two-seater,  which  was  shaped 
very  much  like  a  torpedo  and  came  smartly  close  to 
the  ground.  . 

Nan,  who  was  following  her  chums  into  the  big 
car,  stopped  short  at  this  strange  apparition  and 
uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise.  The  others  fol- 
lowed the  direction  of  her  glance,  and  Bess  stood  up 
excitedly. 


The  Beginning  of  Romance  171 

"Hey,  Walter !  Where  did  you  get  the  new  car  ?" 
she  asked.  "Goodness,  isn't  it  a  beauty !" 

"Do  you  like  it?"  asked  the  boy  proudly,  as  the 
nose  of  the  impertinent-looking  little  runabout 
stopped  short  within  about  two  inches  of  the  back 
of  the  big  car.  "Dad  said  he  was  afraid  I  would 
smash  the  jumbo,  so  he  bought  this  little  toy  for 
me.  Some  class,  isn't  it?" 

The  girls  were  enthusiastic,  and,  indeed,  it  was 
an  unusually  handsome  little  car,  and  Nan  ran 
around  to  get  a  closer  look  at  it. 

"Dad  got  it  for  me  just  in  time,"  Walter  said, 
patting  the  glossy  side  of  his  new  steed. 

"Why?"  asked  Nan  innocently. 

"Because  there  are  too  many  in  the  party  to  ride 
in  the  big  car,  and  we  can  have  a  much  better  time 
in  the  little  fellow,  I  am  sure.  Come  on,  jump 
in." 

Although  she  was  eager  to  try  the  new  car,  Nan 
never  wanted  anything  so  little  as  she  did  to  ride 
with  Walter  at  that  particular  time. 

But  Mr.  Mason  had  already  started  his  motor, 
and  there  was  nothing  for  Nan  to  do  but  to  obey 
Walter  and  "jump  in." 

The  little  car  had  a  surprisingly  deep,  wide  ton- 
neau,  and  Nan  sank  back  in  it  luxuriously.  She  was 
conscious  of  the  admiring  scrutiny  of  spectators,  and 
then  Walter  did  a  few  skilful  things  to  the  machine 
and  it  started  purringly  forward  after  the  big  car, 


172         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

both  for  all  the  world  like  a  full-grown  horse  and  its 
colt. 

Nan  sighed  contentedly.  If  it  had  not  been  for 
Bess  and  the  teasing  she  was  sure  to  get  when  they 
were  alone  together  in  their  room,  she  would  have 
been  completely  happy. 

Bess  turned  and  waved  to  her,  and  the  action,  Nan 
knew  as  well  as  if  her  chum  had  put  it  into  words, 
meant :  "What  did  I  tell  you,  Nan  Sherwood  ?" 


CHAPTER  XXII 

PALM    BEACH   AT   LAST 

THE  tourists  had  a  beautiful  time,  and  everybody 
decided  that  if  Palm  Beach  went  ahead  of  Jackson- 
ville it  would  have  to  be  very  wonderful  indeed. 

Jacksonville  itself  seemed  to  them  very  much  like 
any  busy,  thriving  city — except  that  there  were  more 
hotels.  But  when  they  came  to  the  outskirts  of  the 
city  they  were  charmed  and  wanted  to  go  on  for- 
ever. 

Having  lived  all  their  lives  in  a  temperate  cli- 
mate, the  tropical  beauty  of  the  Florida  country 
entranced  them  and  they  exclaimed  again  and  again 
as  beautiful  new  panoramas  opened  before  them. 
The  moss-hung  live  oaks  especially  drew  exclama- 
tions of  wonder  from  Nan. 

"What  a  perfect  picture  they  form,"  she  said. 
"Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  make  sketches  of  them!" 

"You'll  see  plenty  to  sketch  when  you  get  to  Palm 
Beach,"  said  Walter. 

They  visited  the  public  parks  and  drove  out  to 
some  of  the  suburbs.  Everything  interested  the 
girls  very  much  and  they  frankly  said  so. 

173 


174         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Everything  is  just  about  perfect,"  declared  Bess. 

"All  but  the  darkeys!"  sighed  Rhoda.  "I  think 
it  is  all  perfectly  lovely  but  the  negroes.  There  are 
so  many  of  them,  and  they  one  and  all  look  thor- 
oughly shiftless." 

"Oh,  no,  not  shiftless,"  put  in  Mr.  Mason.  "They 
are  just  care-free." 

"Humph!  All  right,  then.  Care-free.  Just  too 
lazy  to  care  for  anything  at  all,  if  they  can  get 
enough  to  eat,  and  I  suppose  that  is  not  hard  down 
here." 

"They  are  quite  all  right  when  you  get  used  to 
them,"  put  in  Mrs.  Mason. 

It  was  nearing  dusk  when  they  at  last  turned  back 
toward  the  city,  and  it  was  then  that  Walter  re- 
minded Nan  of  her  promise  to  tell  him  all  about  the 
mysterious  men  who  had  startled  her  so. 

Nan  obeyed,  but,  strangely  enough,  felt  none  of 
the  uneasiness  that  she  had  felt  on  board  the  boat 
and  in  the  hotel.  There  was  something  about  the 
luxurious  comfort  of  the  car  and  Walter's  reassur- 
ing presence  that  made  her  feel  quite  safe. 

But  Walter  himself  was  anything  but  calm.  He 
glowered  fiercely  at  the  road  ahead  of  them  and  his 
hands  clenched  tightly  on  the  wheel. 

"It's  a  rotten  shame!"  he  burst  out,  when  Nan 
had  finished  her  story.  "If  I  once  get  hold  of  those 
fellows  there  won't  be  enough  left  of  them  to  iden- 
tify." 


Palm  Beach  at  Last  175 

"But  you  will  help  me  find  Mrs.  Bragley's  prop- 
erty for  her,  won't  you?"  insisted  Nan.  "She  said 
it  was  at  a  place  called  Sunny  Slopes." 

"Sunny  Slopes,  Sunny  Slopes,"  Walter  repeated 
thoughtfully.  "The  name  sounds  rather  familiar  to 
me.  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  he  said,  turning  to 
Nan  with  sudden  decision.  "Dad  knows  the  names 
of  nearly  all  the  places  through  here.  And  if  this 
Sunny  Slopes  is  anywhere  near  Palm  Beach  we'll 
drive  over  in  the  car.  How  does  that  suit  you?" 

"Oh,  fine,"  said  Nan  happily,  adding  as  she  gave 
him  a  demure  glance :  "Only  we  will  drive  over  in 
the  big  car  and  take  the  girls  along." 

"What's  the  matter  with  this  car?"  asked  Walter, 
turning  to  look  at  her.  "I  thought  you  liked  it." 

"I  love  it!"  said  Nan  fervently,  adding  with  a 
funny  little  smile  that  Walter  did  not  understand: 
"I  think  on  that  particular  trip,  I  would  like  to  go 
in  the  big  car." 

The  morning  after  their  delightful  ride  about 
Jacksonville,  they  took  the  train  for  Palm  Beach. 
They  found  to  their  disgust  that  Linda  and  her  party 
were  also  on  board. 

"Goodness !  I  think  Linda  must  be  following  us, 
too,"  Bess  grumbled  to  Nan,  looking  blackly  after 
their  schoolmate  as  she  walked  haughtily  down  the 
car  aisle.  "To  look  at  her  you  would  think  she 
owned  the  world  at  least.  Oh,  if  I  could  only  prove 
that  it  was  she  who  damaged  the  heating  plant  up 


176         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

at  school,  wouldn't  it  be  a  wonderful  chance  to  get 
even  with  her?" 

"I  don't  see  why  you  should  want  to  waste  time 
getting  even  with  her,"  Nan  remarked  calmly.  "We 
have  more  interesting  things  to  occupy  our  time." 

"That's  all  very  well  for  you,"  grumbled  Bess, 
still  feeling  cross  and  injured  by  the  unexpected 
appearance  of  Linda.  "But  /  haven't  any  Walter." 

Nan  was  just  about  to  say  something  unpleasant 
when  Walter  himself  hailed  them.  Grace  and  Rhoda 
were  with  him  and  all  wore  smiles  to  match  the 
morning. 

"Come  on  back,"  the  boy  invited.  "Dad's  got 
chairs  for  the  whole  crowd  where  we  can  get  the 
finest  view.  But  he  said  we  had  better  grab  'em 
quick,  because  there's  no  knowing  how  long  they  will 
last  in  this  crowd." 

So  the  girls  followed  him  to  the  observation  car 
and  would  very  probably  have  forgotten  all  about 
Linda,  had  not  the  girl  herself  made  that  impos- 
sible. 

It  was  hot,  and  there  were  few  people  in  the  car, 
but  Linda  and  one  of  the  ladies  in  her  party  walked 
up  and  down,  looking  occasionally  out  of  the  win- 
dows, as  if  their  energy  was  inexhaustible. 

That  would  not  have  been  so  bad,  had  not  Linda 
chosen  to  ignore  the  girls  so  pointedly,  brushing  past 
with  her  head  held  in  the  air  and  a  manner  which 
said  very  plainly,  "Who  are  those  little  specks  of 


Palm  Beach  at  Last  177 

dust  over  there?  Know  them?  Why,  of  course 
not!"  Finally  Bess  felt  as  though  she  could  not 
stand  it  a  moment  longer. 

"She's  doing  it  on  purpose,  the  horrid  thing," 
Bess  fumed  to  Nan.  "If  she  doesn't  stop  pretty 
soon,  I'll  give  her  a  push  and  topple  her  over.  She'll 
not  look  so  haughty  then,  I  fancy." 

Perhaps  it  was  just  as  well  for  all  concerned  that 
Linda  stopped  her  bad-mannered  performance 
shortly  after  that,  for  Bess  could  not  have  been  re- 
strained much  longer.  With  this  annoyance  re- 
moved, they  had  opportunity  to  enjoy  the  ride  to 
the  full. 

Mr.  Mason  proved  a  very  interesting  companion, 
for  he  knew  the  names  of  the  places  they  passed  and 
told  the  girls  funny  stories  about  things  that  had 
happened  in  each  one  of  them  until  they  were  tired 
out  from  the  laughter. 

"I  never  knew  there  were  so  many  resorts  in  the 
world,"  sighed  Nan,  leaning  back  lazily  in  her  chair. 
"The  only  place  I  really  ever  connected  with  Florida 
was  Palm  Beach.  But  it  seems  that  is  only  one  of 
about  a  million." 

"Hardly  that,"  laughed  Mr.  Mason.  "It  is  true 
there  are  a  great  many  resorts  in  Florida,  but  the 
most  beautiful  and  famous  of  them  is  Palm  Beach." 

"Mr.  Mason,"  spoke  up  Bess,  with  a  wicked  little 
look  at  Nan,  "is  it  true  that  most  of  the  people  who 
go  to  Palm  Beach  are  either  bald-headed  millionaires 


178         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

or  fussy  women  who  just  go  there  to  show  off  their 
clothes?" 

Mr.  Mason  laughed  heartily  at  this,  and  the  rest 
of  his  family  joined  in,  while  Nan  shot  a  reproach- 
ful glance  at  her  chum. 

"No,  my  dear,"  said  the  gentleman  finally,  a 
humorous  twist  in  the  corners  of  his  mouth.  "I 
can't  say  that  all  the  guests  at  Palm  Beach  are  of 
the  particular  varieties  you  have  mentioned.  There 
are  bald-headed  millionaires,  of  course,  and  plenty 
of  fussy,  over-dressed  women,  but  the  people  that  I 
have  mostly  met  in  the  hotels  have  struck  me  as 
being  nice  folks,  very  much  like  ourselves " 

"Stop  handing  yourself  bouquets,  Dad,"  Walter 
broke  in,  with  a  chuckle. 

"I  included  the  whole  family,"  said  Mr.  Mason 
gravely.  "The  millionaires,"  he  went  on,  "don't 
come  to  the  hotels  as  a  rule.  They  build  themselves 
beautiful  bungalows  along  the  shore  and  take  their 
recreation  mostly  in  private  clubs." 

"Oh,  dear!  I  think  that's  horrid,"  pouted  Bess. 
"That's  one  of  the  things  I  came  for  especially.  I 
wanted  to  see  a  dozen  real  live  millionaires  all  in 
one  spot." 

"You  shall  see  plenty  of  millionaires,"  promised 
Mr.  Mason.  "Although  we  won't  guarantee  to  have 
them  all  in  one  spot." 

A  few  hours  later  the  tide  of  passengers  flowed 
from  the  train  at  Palm  Beach  and  the  girls,  borne 


Palm  Beach  at  Last  179 

along  with  the  crowd,  looked  about  them  eagerly. 

They  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  the  beauty  of 
this  famous  winter  resort,  but  they  realized  in  that 
one  swift  glance  that  nothing  they  had  ever  heard 
had  half  done  it  justice. 

"Is  that  a  hotel  over  there  ?"  asked  Nan  of  Grace, 
as  they  allowed  themselves  to  be  swept  on  by  the 
merry  crowd.  Bess  and  Rhoda  were  coming  slowly 
along  behind  them.  "That  immense  yellow  building 
with  the  green  blinds  ?" 

"Yes,  that's  the  Royal  Poinciana,"  answered 
Grace.  "Where  we  are  going  to  stay,  you  know." 

"Oh,  are  we?"  asked  Nan  faintly,  as  she  gazed 
up  at  the  Royal  Poinciana  Hotel,  which  was  six 
stories  in  height  and  seemed  to  cover  several  acres 
of  ground.  "Goodness,  it  seems  as  if  the  whole 
world  ought  to  be  able  to  get  in  there.  And  what's 
that?"  she  went  on,  pointing  to  another  yellow  build- 
ing with  green  blinds.  "Its  twin  ?" 

"Yes.  They  call  it  The  Breakers,"  returned 
Grace,  rather  enjoying  her  new  role  of  guide.  "It 
isn't  quite  as  large  as  the  Royal  Poinciana,  but  dad 
says  it  is  just  as  good." 

Before  long  they  reached  the  hotel  and  they 
waited  while  Walter,  Bess,  Rhoda  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mason  came  puffing  up  to  them,  warm  from  the  heat 
of  the  afternoon  sun. 

"Come  ahead,  folks,"  said  Mr.  Mason,  engineer- 
ing his  flock  up  the  steps  of  the  hotel  to  the  porch. 


i8o         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Let's  get  cooled  and  brushed  up  a  bit,  and  then  we 
can  come  out  and  see  the  sights.  This  is  the  biggest 
crowd  I  have  ever  found  here,"  he  added,  as  they 
entered  the  darkened,  cool  lobby  of  the  hotel  with  a 
conscious  sigh  of  relief,  "and  that  is  saying  a  good 
deal." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

A   TROPICAL   PARADISE 

THE  signing  of  the  hotel  register  was  not  an  easy 
task,  for  there  were  many  other  guests  waiting  to  do 
the  same  thing.  Mr.  Mason  finally  managed  it, 
however,  and  he  and  his  rather  large  family  were 
whirled  up  in  a  roomy  elevator  to  the  fifth  floor  and 
were  shown  to  their  rooms  by  a  well-mannered  and 
friendly  bellboy. 

Bess  and  Nan  were  to  room  together  and  Grace 
and  Rhoda  had  a  room  right  off  theirs,  connected 
by  a  door,  so  that  it  was  really  as  if  the  girls  were 
all  in  one  room. 

"Come  down  on  the  porch  when  you  are  ready, 
girls,"  said  Walter,  just  before  he  disappeared  into 
his  own  room,  "and  we'll  wander  around  and  see  the 
sights." 

Nan  and  Bess  were  delighted  with  their  room,  for 
it  was  large  and  airy  and  commanded  a  beautiful 
view  of  Lake  Worth,  upon  which  the  Royal  Poin- 
ciana  Hotel  is  situated.  Grace's  and  Rhoda's  room 
also  faced  the  lake. 

"Oh,  girls,  look  at  all  the  boats!"  squealed  Bess, 
181 


1 82         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

dancing  delightedly  up  and  down  before  one  of  the 
windows.  "They  are  so  thick  you  can  hardly  see 
any  water  between  them." 

"The  Bargain  Rush  is  down  there  somewhere," 
said  Grace,  as  she  and  Nan  ran  across  the  room  to 
peek  over  Bess's  shoulder.  "Dad  made  an  awful 
fuss  about  having  it  shipped  all  the  way,  but  Walter 
said  he  didn't  want  to  come  if  he  couldn't  have  it." 

"But,  Grace,  this  is  the  first  word  you  have  said 
about  the  Bargain  Rush,"  said  Bess  reproachfully. 
"And  you  know  just  how  unhappy  we'd  be  if  we 
did  not  have  a  boat  down  here." 

"I've  heard  about  Lake  Worth  being  such  a  beau- 
tiful harbor  for  the  pleasure  boats  of  the  Palm  Beach 
tourists,"  said  Rhoda  happily,  "but  I  never  imag- 
ined it  was  half  so  beautiful." 

"But  where  is  the  ocean?"  asked  Bess,  as  they 
turned  from  the  window  and  began  a  hurried  "fresh- 
ening process."  "I  declare,  I'm  all  mixed  up." 

"The  ocean  is  in  back  of  us,  silly,"  Nan  informed 
her.  "Didn't  you  notice  the  beautiful  beach  down 
there  as  we  came  along?  There  were  people  in 
bathing,  too.  Oh,  don't  I  wish  I  could  go  in  myself 
this  very  minute.  Just  think  of  it — surf  bathing  in 
February !" 

"Br-r-r,  stop  it,"  commanded  Bess  with  a  shiver. 
"You  make  me  chilly." 

They  were  ready  to  see  the  sights  in  a  surprisingly 
short  time,  and  Bess  noticed  as  they  stepped  out  into 


A  Tropical  Paradise  183 

the  corridor  that  Nan  locked  the  door  very  care- 
fully and  slipped  the  key  into  her  pocket. 

"You  aren't  worrying  about  those  men  yet,  are 
you?"  she  asked. 

"No-o,"  said  Nan  a  little  doubtfully.  "But  it  is 
always  just  as  well  to  be  on  the  safe  side." 

Together  with  other  girls  and  boys  and  men  and 
women,  all,  like  themselves,  on  pleasure  bent,  the 
girls  made  their  way  down  to  the  lobby  of  the  great 
hotel.  Seeing  nothing  of  Walter  there,  they  rather 
timidly  stepped  out  upon  the  veranda. 

The  size  of  it  made  them  gasp,  and  for  a  n*o- 
ment  they  just  stood  staring  stupidly  at  the  seem- 
ingly endless  vista  of  chairs  and  tables  and  people 
— Nan  and  the  others  were  sure  there  were  millions 
of  people. 

They  might  have  stood  there  forever,  had  not 
Nan  become  suddenly  aware  of  the  admiring  glances 
of  several  of  the  crowd  that  thronged  the  piazza. 
For  the  four  modishly  dressed  girls  formed  a  very 
pretty  and  striking  picture. 

"Let's  sit  down  or  something — everybody  is  star- 
ing at  us,"  she  whispered  to  Rhoda,  but  at  that  mo- 
ment Rhoda  caught  sight  of  Walter  and  waved  a 
commanding  hand. 

"So  here  you  are,"  said  the  boy,  his  face  lighting 
up  with  pleasure  at  the  unexpected  sight  of  the  girls. 
"Right  this  way,  ladies.  Say,"  he  added,  as  they 
started  down  the  steps  together,  "you're  looking 


1 84        Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

great,  girls.  It  isn't  every  fellow  who  has  the  chance 
to  escort  four  pippins  at  Palm  Beach." 

"Pippins !"  repeated  Grace  emphatically,  while  the 
others  giggled.  "You  know  that's  vulgar,  Walter." 

"Vulgar  or  not,  it's  the  truth,"  said  Walter  cheer- 
fully. "Isn't  this  some  garden?"  he  went  on. 

The  Royal  Poinciana  Hotel  was  set  in  a  tropical 
paradise  of  gorgeous  flowers  and  shrubs  and  trees, 
the  beauty  of  which  no  one  who  has  not  seen  it  can 
imagine. 

One  tree  in  particular  caught  Nan's  eye  and  she 
pointed  it  out  eagerly. 

"Look  at  that  gorgeous  thing,"  she  cried.  "What 
is  it,  Walter — a  shrub  or  a  tree  or  a  flower,  or  a 
mixture  of  all  of  them  ?" 

"That's  the  Royal  Poinciana  tree,"  explained 
Walter.  "It  is  a  beauty,  isn't  it?  The  hotel  is 
named  for  the  tree,  you  know." 

They  wandered  on  again,  exclaiming  at  every 
step,  so  happy  and  excited  that  more  than  one  per- 
son in  passing  turned  to  look  after  them  with  an 
indulgent  smile. 

There  were  the  golf  links  between  the  two  hotels, 
and  men  who  "looked  old  enough  to  know  better," 
to  quote  Bess,  were  wandering  over  the  velvet  green 
sward  with  faithful  caddies  trailing  along  in  the 


rear. 
tr 


I  don't  see  what  possible  fun  they  can  find  in 
just  batting  a  foolish  little  ball  about,"  was  Nan's 


A  Tropical  Paradise  185 

comment,  and  Rhoda  turned  to  her  with  a  laugh. 

"About  the  same  pleasure  that  you  find  in  batting 
a  foolish  little  tennis  ball  about,"  she  said,  and  Nan 
caught  her  up  indignantly. 

"But  that's  different !"  she  said,  and  they  laughed 
at  her. 

"Look !"  cried  Grace,  a  moment  later,  pointing  to 
some  beautiful  level  tennis  courts  where  several  ani- 
mated sets  of  singles  were  in  progress.  "You  can't 
say  we  don't  give  you  every  kind  of  amusement 
here,  Nan." 

"It's  wonderful,"  sighed  Nan  happily.  "I'm  glad 
now  that  I  thought  to  pack  my  racket  before  I 
started.  My,  how  I  would  like  to  be  out  there  now." 
For  Nan  was  a  tennis  enthusiast,  and  really  could 
play  the  game  well. 

"I'll  play  you  a  game  to-morrow  morning,"  chal- 
lenged Walter,  and  she  took  him  up  eagerly. 

"Any  time  you  say,"  she  laughed.  "And  I'll  take 
the  court  with  the  sun  in  my  eyes !" 

They  must  have  wandered  on  for  a  long  time,  for 
the  sun  was  getting  low  when  they  finally  turned  to 
go  back.  They  had  passed  "cottages"  which  must 
have  cost  their  owners  a  small  fortune  to  build  and 
several  small  fortunes  to  maintain. 

Walter  pointed  out  to  them  a  club  of  millionaires 
whose  membership  was  something  like  two  hundred, 
with  three  hundred  more  prospective  members  on 
the  waiting  list. 


1 86         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Goodness !"  exclaimed  Bess,  "I  think  I  shall  have 
to  break  in  there  some  time.  Think  of  seeing  two 
hundred  millionaires  all  in  one  place,  instead  of  only 
a  dozen!" 

"If  you  break  in,  Bess,  you  may  get  into  trouble," 
said  Walter,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye.  "What  if 
several  of  the  millionaires  proposed  to  you  at  once  ? 
You  wouldn't  know  which  one  to  take,  you  know 
you  wouldn't." 

"Then  I  wouldn't  take  any  of  them,"  announced 
the  girl  from  Tillbury  promptly. 

"What,  throw  a  real  millionaire  overboard  ?"  and 
Walter  gave  a  pretended  gasp. 

"Of  course.  A  millionaire  might  be  nice  to  look 
at  and  very  hateful  to  live  with,"  and  Bess  flung 
back  her  head  as  if  that  settled  it. 

"Oh,  let's  give  the  millionaires  a  rest,"  put  in 
Rhoda.  "I  know  what  I'd  like." 

"What?"  came  from  several  of  the  others. 

"A  horseback  ride  down  there  on  the  beach." 

"Nothing  easier,"  said  Walter.  "When  do  you 
want  to  go,  now?  If  you  do,  I'll  get  you  a  horse — • 
over  at  the  stand  yonder." 

"Will  you  go?"  questioned  the  girl  from  Rose 
Ranch,  turning  to  her  school  chums. 

"Hadn't  we  better  wait  until  we  are  a  little  better 
acquainted?"  questioned  Nan. 

"All  right.  I  suppose  it's  a  bit  hot  to-day  any- 
way," said  Rhoda. 


A  Tropical  Paradise  187 

"I  guess  you  miss  the  riding  you  used  to  do  on 
the  ranch,"  said  Grace. 

"I  certainly  do.  Not  but  what  this  is  very  nice  for 
a  change." 

It  was  late  when  they  reached  the  hotel  at  last, 
and  the  girls  began  to  realize  for  the  first  time  that 
they  were  tired. 

"See  you  to-night,"  whispered  Walter  to  Nan,  as 
Grace,  Bess  and  Rhoda  disappeared  into  the  lobby. 
"And  don't  forget  that  tennis  engagement  for  to- 
morrow. Ten  o'clock  sharp." 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

NAN   IS   FRIGHTENED 

NAN  played  tennis  with  Walter  the  next  day,  and 
what  is  more,  she  beat  him,  four  out  of  six.  She 
declared  later  that  it  must  have  been  either  pure  luck, 
or  the  fact  that  Walter  was  so  dazed  with  surprise 
at  finding  that  it  was  possible  for  a  girl  to  beat  him 
that  he  had  given  her  two  sets  before  he  had  recov- 
ered from  the  shock. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  fact  remained  that  Nan  had 
to  work  her  hardest  to  wrest  a  set  from  him  after 
that,  and  felt  very  lucky  if  she  managed  to  win  one 
out  of  three. 

On  the  other  hand,  Walter  had  to  work  his  hard- 
est to  keep  Nan  from  making  a  "fool"  of  him  and 
winning  everything.  Consequently  his  admiration 
for  the  girl  from  Tillbury  rose  at  least  ten  points. 

The  other  girls  were  interested  in  the  game  also, 
although  of  the  three,  Grace  was  by  far  the  best 
player.  Lazy  Bess  much  preferred  reading  a  maga- 
zine on  the  immense  piazza,  of  the  hotel  to  chasing 
a  ball  around  in  the  hot  sun. 

Jhere  were  so  many  wonderful  things  to  occupy 
188 


Nan  Is  Frightened  189 

their  attention  that  a  week  flew  by  before  they  knew 
it.  Almost  without  sensing  it,  the  girls  had  drifted 
into  the  routine  of  gay  activities  that  prevailed  at 
the  resort. 

There  was  usually  a  brisk  walk  before  breakfast. 
That  is,  there  was  for  Nan,  Rhoda,  Grace  and 
Walter.  Bess  was  often  too  tired  after  the  gaiety 
of  the  day  before  to  get  up  before  breakfast  to  take 
anything  so  uninteresting  as  a  walk. 

Then  came  breakfast,  an  event  in  itself,  for  the 
food  was  delicious,  especially  to  such  ravenous  ap- 
petites as  the  girls  and  Walter  brought  back  to  it, 
and  the  beautiful  dining-room  of  the  hotel  was  a 
treat  to  the  eye. 

After  breakfast  the  majority  of  the  guests  sallied 
forth  to  the  delights  of  motoring  or  sailing  or  ten- 
nis, while  the  others  either  lingered  on  the  porch  or 
sauntered  over  to  the  golf  links  to  play  a  game  of 
golf,  or,  if  anglers,  went  out  on  a  fishing  excursion. 

The  golf  course  was  between  the  two  hotels,  so 
that  the  players  not  only  furnished  amusement  for 
themselves  but  for  all  those  who  cared  to  watch 
them. 

Later  in  the  morning,  somewhere  between  eleven 
o'clock  and  noon,  was  the  hour  for  bathing.  Then 
all  who  cared  to  go  in  the  water  made  a  dash  for  the 
ocean,  and  had  a  cool,  invigorating  plunge  before 
luncheon.  This  was  the  hour  that  Nan  liked  best 
of  all. 


190         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Later  in  the  afternoon,  one  could  either  go  over 
to  the  cocoanut  grove  for  afternoon  tea  and  a  dance 
or  two  or  take  what  was  in  many  cases  a  much- 
needed  rest. 

At  night  the  girls  loved  to  have  dinner  in  the  Gar- 
den Grill,  for  the  place  itself  was  a  romantic  dream 
of  beauty  with  its  palm  trees  and  boxes  of  shrubs. 
And  the  music — the  music  carried  them  far  away 
from  the  present  on  golden  wings  of  melody  and 
made  them  forget  that  there  was  anything  sordid 
or  unpleasant  in  all  the  world. 

Perhaps  the  evening  was  the  time  that  most  of  the 
Palm  Beach  visitors  lived  for.  Then  came  the 
chance  to  display  beautiful  gowns  and  flashing  jew- 
els of  fabulous  worth. 

There  was  a  glamor  about  the  lights  and  music 
and  gowns  and  jewels  that  quite  went  to  wealth- 
loving  Bess's  head,  and  even  made  steady  Rhoda's 
heart  beat  faster  and  eyes  shine  brighter. 

As  for  Nan  and  Grace — they  were  just  in  their 
element,  and  showed  it. 

Of  course  they  met  Linda  Riggs  occasionally.  It 
would  have  been  impossible  for  them  not  to  have 
done  so.  But  as  the  disagreeable  girl  continued  con- 
sistently to  ignore  them,  the  chums  just  as  consist- 
ently adopted  the  same  attitude. 

They  met  several  other  girls  of  about  their  own 
age,  and  two  of  these  girls  had  their  brothers  with 
them,  and  these  youths  had  two  chums  along — so 


Nan  Is  Frightened  191 

none  of  the  girls  wanted  for  partners  when  it  came 
to  dancing  or  playing  tennis.  In  fact,  sometimes 
they  had  "more  partners  than  were  really  needed/' 
as  Bess  put  it. 

"But  you  are  not  going  to  complain  because  you 
have  enough  partners,  are  you  ?"  queried  Grace. 

"Oh,  no,  indeed,"  cried  Bess.  "I  am  glad  there 
are  more  boys  here.  Imagine  Walter  having  to  take 
care  of  all  of  us." 

One  day  all  of  them  went  for  a  horseback  ride. 
This  put  Rhoda  in  her  element,  and,  seated  on  a 
fine,  spirited  steed,  the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch  gave 
as  fine  an  exhibition  of  horsemanship  as  had  been 
seen  at  Palm  Beach  for  a  long  time. 

"Your  chum  rides  like  a  regular  western  girl," 
said  one  of  the  boys  present,  to  Nan. 

"And  that  is  just  what  she  is,"  answered  Nan. 
"And  one  of  the  best  girls  in  the  world  besides." 

"I  don't  doubt  it.  I  wish  I  could  ride  half  as 
well." 

"Maybe  Rhoda  will  give  you  lessons." 

"No  such  luck,  I'm  afraid,"  said  the  boy.  "But 
I'll  ask  her  anyway,"  and  he  did,  with  the  result 
that  he  and  Rhoda  went  out  half  a  dozen  times,  and 
the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch  taught  him  many  of  her 
best  riding  tricks. 

"He's  a  splendid  fellow,  Will  Halliday  is,"  said 
Rhoda  to  Nan.  "He  likes  outdoor  life — and  that's 
the  best  there  is." 


192         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"Does  he  come  from  out  West?" 

"The  middle  West— Iowa." 

"You  are  making  a  good  rider  of  him,  Rhoda." 

"Well,  I  like  somebody  who  takes  a  real  interest 
in  a  horse,"  answered  the  girl  from  Rose  Ranch. 

One  night  in  the  ballroom,  Rhoda  espied  Linda 
across  the  room  and  with  her  was  a  girl  who  looked 
familiar.  She  called  Nan's  attention  to  the  fact. 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Nan  with  a  puzzled  frown.  "It 
looks  like — why,  Rhoda,  it  is " 

"Cora  Courtney !"  finished  Rhoda  in  a  "what-will- 
happen  next"  tone  of  voice. 

"Let's  go  over  and  make  sure,"  said  Nan,  and 
they  started  to  skirt  the  floor,  hugging  the  wall  to 
escape  the  dancers,  for  the  floor  was  already  crowded 
with  them.  But  when  they  reached  the  spot  where 
Linda  and  her  companion  had  been,  the  latter  were 
gone,  and,  try  as  they  would,  the  girls  could  not  find 
them. 

"It  seems  awfully  strange,"  said  Nan  as  they  dis- 
appointedly found  their  way  back  to  their  seats,  "that 
if  the  girl  was  really  Cora  we  haven't  seen  her  be- 
fore." 

They  told  Bess  and  Grace  about  it  later,  and  they 
agreed  that  the  incident  looked  queer,  to  say  the 
least.  However,  they  had  so  many  things  to  think 
about  in  the  days  that  followed,  that  Linda  slipped 
entirely  from  their  minds. 

One  morning  the  girls  decided  to  forego  their 


Nan  Is  Frightened  193 

usual  game  of  tennis  and  take  an  early  dip  instead. 
Nan  had  complained  of  an  ache  in  the  muscles  of 
her  right  arm,  and  as  the  trouble  almost  undoubtedly 
came  from  overstrain,  Walter  had  insisted  that  she 
take  "a  day  off." 

The  weather  had  seemed  uncomfortably  warm  at 
the  hotel,  but  when  they  reached  the  beach  the  girls 
were  surprised  to  find  that  they  felt  chilly. 

"Goodness!"  said  Bess  with  a  shiver,  "I  think  I 
will  let  you  girls  go  in  and  I'll  stay  here.  Experi- 
ence has  taught  me  that  the  beautiful  green  ocean 
about  these  parts  isn't  always  as  balmy  and  warm 
as  it's  reported  to  be." 

"No,  you  don't,"  said  Nan  decidedly.  "You  know 
very  well  it  spoils  all  the  fun  if  one  of  us  backs  out. 
Come  on,  Rhoda,  you  take  the  other  arm.  One — 
two — three — go !"  and  Bess  was  hurried,  half  laugh- 
ing and  half  angry  and  wholly  protesting,  down  to 
the  water's  edge  and  promptly  ducked  under  a  foam- 
tipped,  hungry,  man-eating  wave. 

She  came  out  on  the  other  side  and  struck  out 
manfully,  puffing  and  steaming  like  a  young  whale. 

The  girls  watched  her  laughingly  for  a  minute, 
then  plunged  in  after  her. 

"My,  the  water  is  cold,"  sputtered  Grace,  as  the 
girls  struck  out  abreast  with  long,  beautifully  even 
strokes.  "Poor  Bess!  I  don't  know  but  what  she 
had  the  right  idea  after  all." 

The  hour  being  so  early,  the  girls  had  that  par- 


194         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

ticular  portion  of  Old  Man  Ocean  almost  to  them- 
selves. There  were  a  few  early  bathers,  however, 
and  among  these  was  a  man  with  a  long,  thin  face 
and  a  mouth  that  was  set  in  a  hard,  straight  line. 

Nan,  doing  the  crawl  with  her  head  under  water, 
came  up  directly  in  front  of  this  unpleasant-looking 
person  and  was  so  startled  and  surprised  in  conse- 
quence that  she  almost  forgot  to  keep  herself  afloat. 

Her  paralysis  remained  only  a  moment,  however, 
and  in  a  flash  of  time  she  was  swimming  back  to- 
ward her  companions. 

As  for  the  man,  having  given  Nan  a  careful  look, 
he  suddenly  made  a  dash  for  the  shore  and  one  of 
the  bathhouses. 

"I  reckon  this  is  my  chance,"  he  said,  as  he  got 
into  his  clothing  with  all  speed.  "I'll  do  the  trick 
while  she  is  in  bathing." 

Nan  was  almost  out  of  breath  when  she  reached 
her  chums. 

"Listen  to  me !"  she  gasped.  "I've  got  to  get  up 
to  the  hotel — and  at  once !" 

"Nan  Sherwood,  is  it  serious  this  time,  or  is  this 
only  another  of  your  attacks?"  asked  Bess  impa- 
tiently. "Here  you  are  the  one  who  dragged  us  into 
the  water  at  this  early  hour,  and  now  you  want  to 
spoil  all  the  fun  by  breaking  up  the  party.  For 
goodness'  sake,  listen  to  reason,"  she  wailed,  as 
Nan,  with  a  determined  shake  of  her  red-capped 
head,  started  in  toward  shore. 


Nan  Is  Frightened  195 

"Haven't  time,"  she  flung  back. 

"You  can  at  least  tell  us  what  the  matter  is," 
called  Grace,  as  reluctant  as  Bess  to  cut  short  the 
fun. 

"Haven't  time,"  Nan  repeated,  half  way  in  to 
shore  now. 

Bess  and  Grace  paddled  the  water  and  looked  at 
each  other  helplessly. 

"Don't  you  think  we  had  better  go,  too?"  asked 
Rhoda  uncertainly. 

"No,  I  don't,"  was  Bess's  cross  answer.  "Nan's 
acting  awfully  funny  these  days,  anyway.  I  think 
she  has  another  secret." 

As  for  Nan,  she  did  not  wait  to  see  whether  the 
girls  were  following  her  or  not,  but  ran  posthaste  to 
her  bathhouse,  where  she  exchanged  her  bathing 
suit  for  more  formal  attire.  Then  she  hurried  on 
to  the  hotel. 

She  had  not  seen  this  man  since  his  arrival  at 
Palm  Beach,  and  the  sudden  appearance  of  his  face 
so  close  to  hers  in  the  water  had  startled  her  hor- 
ribly. Her  first  thought  had  been  of  the  documents 
in  her  suitcase  and  her  one  desire  to  get  to  them  as 
soon  as  possible. 

"Oh,  what  a  fool  I  was  not  to  give  those  papers 
to  Mr.  Mason,  or  have  them  placed  in  the  hotel 
safe,"  she  scolded  to  herself.  She  called  herself 
several  kinds  of  a  goose  as  she  ran  down  the  quiet 
corridor  to  her  room.  As  she  stood  before  the  door 


196         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

a  slight  noise  within  sent  her  heart  suddenly  into 
her  mouth,  and  she  hesitated  before  turning  the 
knob. 

Then,  with  desperate  courage,  she  flung  the  door 
wide  and  stepped  into  the  room.  Before  her  bed 
a  tall,  thin  man  was  standing,  and  on  the  bed  was  a 
bag,  her  bag,  partly  open,  with  the  contents  show- 
ing! 

In  a  moment  her  fear  changed  to  flaming  indig- 
nation, and  she  sprang  forward,  flinging  herself  be- 
fore the  bag  and  pushing  the  man  away  from  her 
with  furious,  impotent  little  fists. 

"You  little  imp!"  the  fellow  snarled,  catching  her 
wrists  and  holding  them  in  an  iron  grip.  "You 
just  dare  make  a  noise,  and  I'll  show  you  who's 
boss.  You  little " 

"Nan !    Oh,  Nan,  what's  the  matter?" 

The  voice  held  a  frightened  note,  and  its  owner 
was  evidently  running  along  the  corridor  toward 
Nan's  open  door.  The  man  said  something  under 
his  breath,  released  Nan's  wrists,  and  darted  to- 
ward the  window. 

Nan,  conscious  of  a  stabbing  pain  in  her  wrists, 
followed  him,  but  not  in  time  to  stop  his  flight.  She 
saw  him  disappear  down  the  fire  escape  and  then, 
with  a  little  stifled  sob,  turned  back  into  the  room 
and  found  herself  face  to  face  with  her  startled 
chums. 

"Nan !  you  look  like  a  ghost,"  cried  Bess,  flinging 


Nan  Is  Frightened  197 

an  arm  about  the  girl  and  drawing  her  to  the  bed. 

"We  thought  we  heard  a  man's  voice,"  added 
Rhoda,  staring  with  fascinated  eyes  from  Nan  to 
the  half -opened  bag  on  the  bed. 

Grace  was  plainly  frightened.  "Nan!  was  that 
man  here?" 

"Yes,"  said  Nan  faintly.  "He  was  here  and  he — 
oh,  girls,  it  was  dreadful!  I  can't  talk  about  it." 
And  she  broke  down  with  a  sob  and  buried  her  head 
on  Bess's  shoulder. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

MOONLIGHT 

WHEN  Nan  told  her  story  to  the  Masons  a  little 
later  they  were  not  only  indignant  but  very  gen- 
uinely worried.  Walter  declared  that  he  would 
"catch  that  man  and.  wring  his  neck  before  the  day 
was  up,"  which  boast,  though  extremely  extrava- 
gant, brought  strange  comfort  to  Nan,  shocked  as 
she  had  been  by  the  events  of  the  morning. 

Mr.  Mason  wanted  to  shadow  the  man,  but  Nan 
begged  him  not  to  do  that  until  after  they  had  had 
a  chance  to  look  up  Mrs.  Bragley's  property  for 
her  and  see  what  it  was  worth. 

"If  that's  the  way  you  feel,"  Mr.  Mason  decided 
sympathetically,  "it  seems  to  me  the  best  thing  to  do 
is  to  get  to  Sunny  Slopes  as  soon  as  possible,  take  a 
look  at  this  land,  and  employ  an  attorney,  if  need  be, 
to  be  sure  her  title  is  clear.  Then  if  this  man  is  il- 
legally trying  to  wrest  the  land  from  its  rightful 
owner,  we  will  employ  a  detective  and  see  that  the 
fellow  is  brought  to  justice.  I  want  to  lift  the  load 
from  these  young  shoulders,"  he  said,  looking  down 
at  Nan  with  the  nice  smile  that  made  everybody  like 

198 


Moonlight  199 

him.  "They  are  too  young  to  carry  the  troubles  of 
other  people  yet." 

Nan  smiled  up  at  him  gratefully,  and  perhaps  the 
interview  might  have  ended  there  had  Walter  al- 
lowed it  to.  But  Walter  was  still  tremendously 
worried  about  Nan. 

"But  Dad,"  he  said,  turning  to  his  father  accus- 
ingly, "you  certainly  can't  mean  that  you  are  going 
to  let  that  man  wander  around  loose  so  that  he  can 
worry  Nan  all  he  wants  to.  Why,  this  is  four  or 
five  times  already  that  he  has  nearly  frightened  her 
to  death.  Why,"  he  continued,  waxing  more  ex- 
cited as  he  thought  about  it  and  glaring  at  the 
anxious  group  of  people  as  though  it  were  in  some 
way  all  their  fault,  "he  isn't  going  to  stop  when  he 
so  nearly  got  what  he  wanted  to-day.  He  may  come 
back  again  to-night " 

"That  is  very  unlikely,"  Mr.  Mason  broke  in,  in 
a  cheerful,  matter-of-fact  tone.  "He  knows  that 
we  are  on  our  guard  now.  "For  all  he  can  tell,  we 
may  have  detectives  in  every  corridor  and  he  will 
be  very  careful  how  he  ventures  near  Nan's  room  to- 
night. No,  he  will  try  some  other  way  since  this 
one  has  failed.  And  in  a  day  or  two  we  will  motor 
down  to  Sunny  Slopes  and  relieve  Nan's  mind  about 
this  woman's  property." 

In  spite  of  Mr.  Mason's  very  reasonable  convic- 
tion that  the  man  would  not  return  to  Nan's  room, 
the  girls  were  nervous  that  night,  especially  Bess, 


2OO         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

and  they  were  all  glad  when  the  sun,  creeping  in 
through  the  window,  announced  that  another  beau- 
tiful day  had  begun. 

"Goodness!"  said  Bess,  stretching  fretfully,  "if 
this  keeps  up  much  longer,  Nan  Sherwood,  I'll  just 
be  a  wreck,  that's  all." 

"Get  your  cold  water  plunge  and  you  will  feel 
better,"  said  Nan,  at  which  practical  suggestion  Bess 
merely  grunted. 

They  were  to  play  a  tennis  match  that  day,  Rhoda 
and  Walter  against  Nan  and  Grace,  and  naturally 
they  all  had  set  their  hearts  upon  winning.  Bess 
had  begged  off  on  the  ground  that  it  was  too  warm 
to  play. 

It  was  a  glorious  morning  for  the  sport,  sunshiny 
and  clear,  yet  cool,  and  the  girls  forgot  their  restless 
night  as  they  stepped  out  upon  the  court. 

It  was  not  till  they  started  to  "warm  up"  and  Nan 
wound  up  for  her  usual  swift  serve  that  they  had 
an  inkling  of  the  thing  that  was  to  spoil  the  fun  for 
that  morning,  at  least. 

Nan  struck  weakly  at  the  ball,  which  landed  igno- 
miniously  in  the  net  and  then  dropped  her  racket 
with  a  little  cry  of  pain.  The  girls  and  Walter  ran 
to  her  anxiously,  Walter  jumping  the  net  and  scoop- 
ing up  the  ball  as  he  came. 

"What  is  the  matter,  Nan  Sherwood?"  Bess 
wanted  to  know.  "That's  the  funniest  ball  I  ever 
saw  you  serve." 


Moonlight  '201 

"It's  my  wrist,"  said  Nan  apologetically.  "It 
turned  just  at  the  wrong  minute.  I  don't  seem  to 
liave  any  power  in  it." 

"Let  me  see,"  Walter  demanded  masterfully,  and 
as  he  held  her  little  wrist  in  his  hand  Nan  noticed 
that  it  was  red  and  swollen. 

"Oh-h !"  she  said  impulsively,  "that  must  be  where 
the  man  grabbed  me  so  tight  yesterday.  I'm  dread- 
fully sorry  to  spoil  your  game,"  she  added,  thinking, 
as  always,  more  of  every  one  else  than  of  herself. 

"Hang  the  old  game,"  said  Walter  explosively. 
"We  can  play  that  any  time.  But  if  I  could  get  my 
hands  on  that — that " 

"Don't  say  it,"  begged  Nan,  with  a  little  laugh. 
"You  mustn't  talk  about  people  behind  their  backs, 
you  know." 

"But  now  our  game  is  spoiled,  and  we  have  a 
whole  long  morning  on  our  hands,"  wailed  Grace. 
"I  wish  I  had  slept  a  couple  of  hours  longer." 

"I  tell  you  what  we'll  do,"  said  Walter,  with  sud- 
'den  inspiration.  "We'll  take  some  fishing  tackle — 
Grace  and  I  have  enough  to  go  round — and  go  out 
in  the  little  old  Bargain  Riish  to  a  place  I  know  of 
where  the  fish  just  come  trotting  up  begging  to  be 
caught.  How  about  it,  girls?  Are  you  on?" 

It  seemed  that  they  were,  enthusiastically  so,  and 
half  an  hour  later  Grace  was  declaring  that  she  was 
sorry  about  poor  Nan's  wrist,  of  course,  but  if  this 
wasn't  better  than  playing  a  hot  game  of  tennis  and 


202         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  BeacK 

probably  getting  beaten,  her  name  wasn't  Grace 
Mason,  that's  all. 

Walter  was  right  about  the  fish — they  seemed  to 
enjoy  being  caught,  and  when,  almost  at  noon  time, 
they  came  back  to  the  hotel  with  Walter  bringing 
up  the  rear  with  the  result  of  the  morning's  sport 
proudly  displayed,  strangers  followed  them  with  en- 
vious eyes  and  people  they  knew  stopped  them  to 
ask  where  they  had  found  the  fish. 

As  for  Nan,  she  tried  hard  to  enter  into  the  old 
round  of  gaieties  with  her  usual  enthusiasm,  for  she 
knew  that  to  show  how  worried  she  was  would  only 
spoil  the  fun  of  her  friends.  But  to  herself  she 
acknowledged  that  she  would  not  really  be  able  to 
enjoy  anything  again  until  the  mystery  of  those 
dangerous  papers  in  her  bag  was  finally  cleared  up 
and  she  was  free  from  espionage  once  more. 

Walter  seemed  to  be  the  only  one  who  really  un- 
derstood her  state  of  mind  and  when  she  pleaded  a 
headache  that  afternoon  and  broke  an  engagement 
with  the  girls  to  go  to  the  cocoanut  grove  for  tea, 
it  was  Walter  who  silenced  their  protests  and  took 
her  himself  up  to  her  room. 

"I'm  awfully  sorry  about  this,"  he  said,  taking  the 
wrist,  which  had  been  rubbed  with  liniment  and 
neatly  bandaged  by  Mrs.  Mason,  in  one  of  his  sun- 
burned hands  and  patting  it  awkwardly.  "Does  it 
ache  very  much  now?" 

"N — no.     It  doesn't  ache  at  all,"  said  Nan,  add- 


Moonlight  203 

ing  quickly  to  cover  her  confusion  as  she  drew  her 
hand  away,  "I  think  you  had  better  go  down  to 
the  girls  now,  Walter.  They  will  think  you've  de- 
serted them." 

"Oh,  all  right,"  said  Walter,  and  perhaps  it  was 
only  Nan's  imagination  that  made  her  think  he 
looked  hurt.  "Be  sure  and  save  the  first  two  dances 
for  me  to-night." 

He  went  out  quietly,  and  for  a  long  time  after 
he  had  gone  Nan  stood  looking  at  the  closed  door. 
Then  her  glance  dropped  to  her  bandaged  wrist  and 
she  smiled  a  little. 

"Boys  are  so  funny,"  she  murmured — to  no  one 
in  particular. 

There  was  a  big  dance  that  night,  and  when  the 
time  came  to  dress  Nan  still  further  incensed  the 
girls  by  refusing  to  dress. 

"How  would  I  look  in  an  evening  dress  and — this, 
thing?"  she  asked,  holding  up  her  bandaged  wrist. 

"No  one  ever  would  look  at  your  wrist  when  your 
face  is  along,  Nan  Sherwood,"  said  Rhoda,  at  which 
Nan  laughed  but  still  remained  firm. 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Bess,  flouncing  over  to  her  closet 
and  taking  out  a  pretty  white  net  and  blue  satin 
dress,  "I  suppose  you  will  have  your  own  way,  Nan. 
But  one  way  or  another,  that  old  Mrs.  Bragley  and 
her  miserable  papers  have  just  spoiled  our  trip.  I 
wish  she  was  in  Jericho!" 

"It  was  Guinea  last  time,"  Nan  laughed  at  her. 


2O4         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Since  Nan  refused  to  dance  that  night,  Walter 
also  refused.  Try  as  she  might,  Nan  could  not  get 
him  to  alter  his  decision,  and  finally  gave  up  the  at- 
tempt in  despair. 

"Grace  and  Bess  will  be  furious,"  she  said. 

"Let  them,"  he  answered  recklessly.  "There  are 
plenty  of  other  fellows  around.  See  that  moon  over 
there?  Say,  Nan,  I  have  a  bully  idea." 

They  were  standing  in  one  corner  of  the  veranda 
of  the  Royal  Poinciana.  The  veranda  looked 
strangely  deserted  that  night,  the  dance  being  at  its 
height  in  the  ballroom  within,  and  it  being  still  a 
little  early  for  the  inevitable  drifting  of  couples 
from  the  heat  of  the  ballroom  to  the  cool  breezes  of 
the  porch. 

"An  idea?"  asked  Nan,  feeling  adventurous  her- 
self. "Tell  me." 

"Back  there  somewhere  the  Bargain  Rush  is  wait- 
ing," said  Walter,  his  voice  boyishly  eager.  "Since 
we  can't  dance,  we  might  as  well  'putt.'  And — it 
seems  too  bad  to  waste  that  moon." 

Nan  thought  so,  too,  and  a  moment  later  they 
were  running  hand  in  hand  through  the  garden  to 
the  spot  where  the  Bargain  Rush  waited.  They 
scrambled  on  board,  Walter  started  the  engine,  and 
they  drifted  out  into  the  magic  stillness  of  the  night. 

"Now  tell  me,"  said  Walter  after  a  while,  his  eyes 
shifting  from  the  moonlit  waters  of  the  lake  to  Nan 
where  she  sat  curled  up  in  one  of  the  chairs,  gazing 


Moonlight  205- 

dreamily  out  over  the  shadowy  water,  "isn't  this 
better  than  dancing?" 

"It's  awfully  nice,"  admitted  Nan. 

"I  get  so  tired  of  the  hot  ballroom,  and  the  bright 
lights,"  went  on  the  boy,  as  he  bent  over  the  engine, 
to  see  that  it  was  running  properly. 

"Well,  I  get  tired  of  the  lights  myself,  Walter." 

"And  those  flashing  jewels!  Why  will  some  of 
the  women  load  themselves  with  so  much  jewelry?'* 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  know.  I  think  too  much  jewelry 
is  horrid." 

"I  suppose  some  folks  think  that  is  the  one  way 
to  let  others  know  that  they  have  money." 

Nan  drew  a  deep  breath.  "Look  at  the  moon, 
Walter,  isn't  it  simply  wonderful?" 

"Sure  is.     And  I  think " 

Walter  came  to  a  sudden  stop.  Another  motor 
boat  had  loomed  up,  running  dangerously  close  to 
the  Bargain  Rush. 

"Hi,  keep  away  from  there!"  called  out  the  boy. 

"They'll  run  into  us !"  exclaimed  Nan,  in  sudden 
alarm. 

"Don't  get  scared,  sonny !"  sang  out  a  man  in  the 
other  motor  boat  and  then  he  suddenly  veered  out 
of  the  way,  but  with  only  an  inch  or  two  to  spare. 

"The  great  big  clown !"  burst  out  Walter,  in  just 
anger.  "He  did  that  just  to  give  us  a  scare." 

"It  was  no  way  to  do,"  said  Nan.  She  was  not 
a  little  shaken  by  the  unexpected  happening. 


206         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"I  hope  he  runs  into  a  tree,  or  a  rock,  or  some- 
thing." 

"There  he  goes,  along  the  other  shore  of  the  lake," 
said  Nan,  a  few  seconds  later.  "See,  I  think  he  is 
trying  to  scare  the  folks  in  that  other  motor  boat." 

"He's  either  crazy  or  a  fool,"  murmured  Walter. 

The  unknown  motorist  was  evidently  amusing 
himself  at  the  expense  of  those  less  daring  than 
himself,  and  he  raced  up  and  down  the  lake  several 
times.  But  soon  a  larger  motor  boat  put  out  and 
bore  down  upon  him. 

"We've  been  laying  for  you,"  said  a  man  who 
was  evidently  an  official.  "You'll  not  try  any  more 
of  those  tricks." 

"That's  right — place  him  under  arrest,"  said  an- 
other man,  one  who  had  come  close  to  suffering  a 
collision.  "I'll  make  a  charge  against  him." 

"I  was  only  having  a  little  fun,"  whined  the  man 
who  had  been  racing  around. 

"You  can  tell  your  story  at  the  police  station," 
was  the  answer.  And  then  the  fellow  was  placed 
under  arrest. 

Nan  and  Walter  continued  their  ride  in  the  moon- 
light, and  soon  the  unpleasant  incident  was  for- 
gotten. They  talked  of  their  good  times  at  Palm 
Beach,  and  then  the  youth  referred  to  what  Nan 
proposed  to  do  for  Mrs.  Bragley. 

"Nan,  I'm  awfully  sorry  you  are  so  worried  about 
those  old  property  papers,"  remarked  Walter  pres- 


Moonlight  207 

ently.    "Why  don't  you  turn  them  over  to  my  dad  ?" 

"I  thought  you'd  say  that,  Walter,"  she  returned. 
"I've  been  expecting  it.  Why  don't  I?  Well,  to 
tell  the  truth,  I  don't  know.  I — I  guess  I  am  a 
little  headstrong  about  it." 

"Headstrong?"  he  repeated,  plainly  puzzled. 

"Yes.  You  see  Bess  and  the  others  think  I  am  so 
— so — well,  so  scared  I  can't  keep  them  in  my  pos- 
session. Well,"  Nan  drew  a  deep  breath,  "I  am 
scared.  But,  just  the  same,  I'm  not  so  scared  as  all 
that — and  I'm  going  to  prove  it  to  them,  so  there !" 

Walter  gazed  at  her  in  open  admiration  for  a  mo- 
ment. 

"Nan,  you're  a  brick !"  he  cried. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

/ 

WORTH    A    FORTUNE 

MR.  MASON,  by  inquiry,  had  found  out  that  the 
'district  known  as  Sunny  Slopes  was  about  sixty 
miles  from  Palm  Beach,  and  the  next  morning  they 
set  off  by  motor  for  the  place,  Mrs.  Mason  having 
declared  to  her  husband  the  night  before  that  "it 
was  of  no  use  to  put  the  thing  off  any  longer.  The 
girl's  nerves  were  all  on  edge  over  that  queer  wid- 
ow's mysterious  papers.  He  may  not  have  noticed 
it,  but  she  had  been  watching  Nan  very  closely." 

So  it  came  about  that  a  big  machine,  carrying  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Mason,  Nan  and  Bess  and  Rhoda,  and 
enough  luggage  to  last  them  at  a  hotel  for  a  few 
days,  and  a  torpedo-shaped  little  car  bearing  Walter 
and  Grace  set  out  bright  and  early  to  make  the  trip 
to  Sunny  Slopes. 

Walter  had  taken  it  for  granted  that  Nan  would 
ride  with  him,  and  had  seemed  inclined  to  sulk  when 
she  decidedly  refused.  For  Nan  had  taken  herself 
very  severely  to  task  when  she  had  reached  her  room 
the  night  before.  She  had  broken  her  rule  never  to 
.go  anywhere  with  Walter  unless  the  girls  were 

208 


Worth  a  Fortune  209 

along,  and  she  would  never,  never  do  it  again.  She 
was  particularly  hard  on  herself  to-day — and  on 
poor  Walter — because  of  the  fact  that  she  had  en- 
joyed that  dreamlike  sail  over  the  moonlight  waters 
of  Lake  Worth  more  than  she  had  ever  enjoyed 
anything  before. 

So  Walter,  coming  behind  the  big  machine  with 
Grace,  sulked,  and  Grace  scolded  because,  in  his  pre- 
occupation, he  nearly  ran  her  and  himself  into  a 
ditch. 

Their  route  lay  over  the  lake  to  West  Palm  Beach 
and  then  along  a  beautiful  highway  lined  on  either 
side  with  gorgeous  palms. 

"I  don't  wonder  the  place  is  called  Palm  Beach," 
remarked  Rhoda.  "I  never  dreamed  of  seeing  so 
many  fine  palm  trees  before." 

They  had  made  careful  inquiries  concerning  the 
route,  and  once  the  houses  and  bungalows  were  left 
behind  they  "hit  it  up"  to  a  very  respectable  rate  of 
speed.  The  roads,  for  the  most  part,  were  very 
good,  and  the  only  spots  covered  where  they  had  to 
be  careful  were  where  there  had  been  washouts. 

"It  is  certainly  a  pretty  landscape,"  remarked 
Grace,  as  they  sped  past  one  settlement  after  an- 
other. "I  don't  wonder  that  you  said  you'd  like  to 
make  sketches,  Nan." 

"But  I  haven't  made  any  yet,"  was  Nan's  answer, 
with  a  slight  shrug  of  the  shoulders. 

They  reached  Sunny  Slopes  about  noon,  and  de- 


Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

cided — at  least  their  ravenous  appetites  decided  for 
them — that  they  had  better  have  something  to  eat 
before  they  inquired  further  into  the  mystery  of 
Mrs.  Bragley's  papers. 

Nan  was  the  only  one  who  seemed  very  much  ex- 
cited, and  the  others  did  not  notice  that  the  girl 
scarcely  touched  her  lunch.  It  seemed  an  age  to  her 
before  the  meal  was  finished  and  Mr.  Mason  de- 
clared that  they  were  ready  to  make  their  investi- 
gations. 

Nan  and  her  friends  would  have  been  very  much 
surprised  had  they  known  that  they  were  being 
followed  on  their  trip  to  Sunny  Slopes,  yet  such 
Avas  a  fact.  The  two  men  who  had  tried  so  hard 
to  gain  possession  of  Sarah  Bragley's  documents 
were  growing  desperate. 

"We've  got  to  do  something  and  do  it  quick," 
snapped  the  tall,  thin  man.  "Do  you  hear  me  ?" 

"I  certainly  do,"  growled  the  other. 

"If  we  fail  we  won't  get  a  cent  of  the  cash  that 
was  promised  to  us." 

"I  know  that,  too,"  answered  the  short  man,  and 
scowled  deeply. 

Mr.  Mason  had  once,  in  his  less  affluent  days,  been 
a  real  estate  broker  himself,  and  so  pooh-poohed  his 
wife's  suggestion  that  he  get  some  one  who  knew 
the  country  to  direct  them. 

"My  dear,"  he  said,  "if  this  Mrs.  Bragley  has  any 
property  around  here,  I'll  find  it." 


Worth  a  Fortune  211 

He  had,  with  Nan's  consent,  examined  the  docu- 
ments the  widow  had  given  her  and  had  seemed,  to 
Nan's  eager  eyes,  to  have  been  considerably  im- 
pressed by  them. 

So  now  as  they  crowded  out  of  the  restaurant — 
it  was  the  first  one  they  had  come  to,  and  they  had 
been  too  hungry  to  argue  about  its  elegance  or  lack 
of  it — and  climbed  into  the  cars  again,  Nan  could 
hardly  keep  still  in  her  eagerness  to  know  the  truth 
at  once. 

They  passed  down  a  short  business  street,  and 
then,  making  a  turn,  came  out  on  a  broad  country 
road. 

"Sunny  Slopes  begins  about  a  mile  from  here," 
said  Mr.  Mason.  "It  covers  quite  a  bit  of  territory, 
I  am  told.  While  one  end  is  quite  barren,  the  other 
end  is  excellent  for  orange  growing  and  is  covered 
with  bearing  trees." 

"Oh,  dear,  I  hope  Mrs.  Bragley's  end  is  the 
orange-growing  end !"  cried  Nan. 

"Don't  be  too  much  disappointed  if  it  isn't,"  said 
Mrs.  Mason  kindly. 

Suddenly  Bess,  who  had  been  laughing  and  talk- 
ing with  Rhoda  about  school  affairs,  gave  a  little 
bounce  and  cried  out  excitedly  : 

"Look  there !    Isn't  that  an  orange  grove  ?" 

"It  surely  is,"  Mr.  Mason  called  back  to  her,  add- 
ing in  a  voice  that  showed  his  rising  excitement: 
"Your  widow's  property  ought  to  be  somewhere  in 


212         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

here,  Nan.  I  think  I'll  stop  the  car  and  we  can  go 
forward  on  foot." 

"Oh!"  said  Nan  softly,  as,  a  moment  later,  she 
jumped  out  into  the  road.  "I  never  saw  an  orange 
grove  before.  Isn't  it  wonderful!" 

"Goodness !"  said  Bess,  as  Grace  and  Walter  drew 
up  behind  the  big  car  and  ran  around  and  joined 
them,  "it  looks  as  if  they  had  all  been  drawn  after 
the  same  pattern — the  trees,  I  mean.  Did  you  ever 
see  anything  so  symmetrical  in  all  your  life?" 

It  was  the  first  time  any  of  them,  except  the 
Masons,  had  been  close  to  an  orange  grove,  and  they 
all  went  forward  for  a  closer  look  at  it.  The  grove 
was  set  quite  a  way  back  from  the  road  and  seemed 
to  cover  many  acres  of  ground,  stretching  symmetri- 
cally back  as  far  as  the  eye  could  see. 

The  orange  trees  were  not  tall,  and  were  shaped 
very  much  like  the  little  toy  trees  the  children  use 
to  build  their  landscape  gardens — broad  at  the  bot- 
tom and  tapering  up  almost  to  a  point  at  the  top. 

From  his  examination  of  the  documents  carried 
by  Nan,  Mr.  Mason  had  jotted  down  a  number  of 
facts  and  figures.  Now  the  lawyer  walked  forward 
slowly  and  presently  examined  a  number  of  stone 
markers  he  found  set  in  the  ground.  Then  he 
walked  to  a  side  road  and  read  the  signs  thereon. 
A  smile  of  satisfaction  crossed  his  face. 

Nan,  standing  close  to  Mr.  Mason,  touched  his 
arm  timidly. 


Worth  a  Fortune 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Bragley's  property?"  she  asked  in 
an  awed  tone. 

"These  are  most  certainly  the  orange  groves  men- 
tioned in  her  documents,"  he  said  gravely.  "How 
much  of  it  she  owns  will  have  to  be  determined  by 
an  attorney.  But  I  guess,"  he  added,  looking  down 
at  Nan  with  a  kindly  smile,  "that  the  property  she 
holds  here  is  worth  a  tidy  sum,  several  thousand 
dollars  at  least.  Of  course  the  orange  grove  itself 
is  worth  a  fortune." 

"I'm  so  glad!"  cried  Nan  happily.  "I  just  can't 
wait  to  let  poor  Mrs.  Bragley  know  about  it." 

"Well,  I  must  say,"  said  Bess,  "that  this  is  the 
first  time  I've  really  thought  those  old  papers  were 
worth  anything,  Nan.  Perhaps  now  we  can  get  rid 
of  them  so  we  won't  have  any  more  trouble." 

"Then  there  was  a  real  reason  for  those  men 
shadowing  Nan,"  said  Walter,  adding  with  an  un- 
usually fierce  scowl:  "If  they  turn  up  again,  I  will 
kill  them,  that's  all,  even  if  it  lands  me  in  jail." 

"My,  aren't  we  dangerous,"  said  Nan,  laughing 
at  him. 

Nan  never  afterward  knew  just  how  it  happened, 
but  some  way  or  other,  among  the  orange  trees,  she 
managed  to  get  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  party. 
She  was  so  engrossed  with  happy  thoughts  of  the 
success  of  her  plan  to  help  Mrs.  Bragley  and  so  ab- 
sorbed in  imagining  the  woman's  surprise  and  joy 
at  the  news  she  was  about  to  receive  that  it  was  some 


214         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

time  before  she  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  she  was 
alone. 

The  predicament — if  indeed  it  was  one — did  not 
particularly  worry  her,  for  she  knew  that  she  could 
find  her  way  back  to  the  road  easily  enough  and 
that  there  was  no  possibility  in  the  world  of  her 
becoming  really  lost. 

As  she  stood  reveling  in  the  tropical  beauty  of  the 
scene  and  smiling  happily  to  herself,  a  thought  sud- 
denly flashed  through  her  mind  that  banished  the 
smile  from  her  lips  and  brought  an  anxious  frown  to 
her  brow. 

"I've  left  my  bag  in  the  car!"  she  told  herself. 
"And  with  all  Mrs.  Bragley's  papers  in  it!  If  I 
should  lose  them  now,  after  bringing  them  safely 
all  this  way " 

Action  followed  swift  upon  the  thought,  and  she 
started  through  the  grove  in  the  direction  she  had 
come. 

"Not  so  fast!  Not  so  fast!"  said  a  voice  beside 
her,  and  the  next  moment  a  man  darted  out  from 
the  shelter  of  the  trees  and  stepped  directly  in  her 
path.  He  was,  as  Nan  knew  the  minute  she  heard 
his  voice,  the  tall,  thin  man  with  the  straight  line 
for  a  mouth,  with  whom  she  had  had  so  many  un- 
pleasant meetings  before.  His  face  showed  a  des- 
perate expression. 

Nan  did  not  scream,  although  much  alarmed. 
She  glanced  over  her  shoulder  with  a  half-formed 


Worth  a  Fortune  215 

thought  of  escape,  but  the  man  sprang  forward  and 
laid  a  rough  hand  on  her  arm. 

"None  of  that,  my  little  lady,"  said  the  sneering 
voice.  "You  are  not  going  to  get  away  from  us 
this  time  until  we  get  what  we  want.  Just  a  little 
document  or  two  is  all  we  want.  Quick  now — hand 
it  over." 

"I — I  haven't  any  document!"  gasped  Nan,  add- 
ing with  a  little  flare  of  temper:  "If  you  don't  let 
go  of  my  arm  I — I'll  scream." 

"Oh,  no,  you  won't!     Slicker,  that's  your  job." 

Before  Nan  could  move  a  soft,  fat  hand  was 
pressed  over  her  mouth  from  behind  and  she  twisted 
about  to  find  that  her  second  captor  was  the  short, 
fat  man  who  had  been  the  companion  of  her  more 
dangerous  enemy  on  the  boat. 

"Come,  we're  in  a  hurry,"  snapped  the  latter,  and 
Nan's  terrified  eyes  came  back  to  his.  "Will  you 
give  'em  to  us  or  do  we  have  to  take  them  ?" 

Nan  shook  her  head,  and  with  a  snort  of  impa- 
tience the  man  laid  rough  hands  upon  her  and  be- 
gan to  search  her  clothing  for  the  papers.  Then, 
finding  nothing,  he  turned  upon  her  in  a  towering 
rage. 

"You're  a  sly  one,"  he  growled  between  his  teeth. 
"But  let  me  tell  you  this,  you  little  imp " 

"Easy,  Jensen,  easy,"  cautioned  the  fat  man, 
whose  hand  still  covered  Nan's  mouth. 

"If  we  don't  find  those  papers  within  the  next 


216         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

forty-eight  hours,"  raged  the  other,  not  noticing  his 
companion,  "you  will  be  mighty  sorry.  Something 
is  going  to  happen  to  you!  Get  me?" 

"You — you  brute!"  gasped  Nan,  as  the  fat  man 
removed  his  hand  from  her  mouth. 

"It  won't  do  you  any  good  to  call  names,  Miss. 
You  get  those  papers  for  us.  And  don't  you  dare 
to  hand  'em  to  any  of  your  friends  either.  If  you 
do — well,  you'll  be  sorry.  We  are  out  for  those 
papers,  and  we  are  bound  to  have  'em." 

He  pushed  Nan  from  him  with  such  force  that  she 
stumbled  and  fell  full  length  on  the  ground,  where 
she  lay,  a  bewildered  heap  of  indignant  girlhood. 

For  a  moment  the  tall  man  looked  at  her  with  a 
cruel  smile  touching  his  thin  mouth.  Then  he  took 
his  companion  by  the  arm  and  disappeared  through 
the  trees. 


He  pushed  Nan  from  him  with  such   force  that  she  stumbled 
and  fell.  (See  page  216) 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

WALTER   TO    THE    RESCUE 

A  FAMILIAR  shout  roused  Nan,  and  she  sat  up, 
pushing  the  hair  back  from  her  face,  and  instinc- 
tively straightened  her  dress.  She  picked  up  her 
hat,  which  had  fallen  off  when  she  fell,  and  she 
pushed  this  down  over  her  soft  hair  as  she  stumbled 
to  her  feet. 

She  answered  the  familiar  hail,  and  in  another 
moment  she  saw  Walter  running  toward  her,  look- 
ing very  anxious  and  upset.  But  when  the  youth 
saw  her  face  he  stood  still,  staring  at  her  stupidly. 

"Why,  Nan!"  he  cried,  "what  is  it?  You — why, 
you've  been  crying!" 

"W-with  rage,"  said  Nan,  a  sob  rising  in  her 
throat.  "It's  those  men,  Walter.  They  searched 
me!  Oh,  I'll  never  get  over  it — never!" 

This  time  she  broke  down  completely  and  Walter 
ran  to  her,  putting  a  protecting  arm  about  her,  glanc- 
ing about  him  at  the  same  time  as  if  he  hoped  to  see 
the  men  who  had  frightened  her  and  wreak  ven- 
geance then  and  there. 

"Searched  you!  Who?"  he  demanded;  then,  be- 
217 


218         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

fore  she  could  speak,  he  added  as  though  answering 
his  own  question:  "It  was  those  men,  Nan.  You 
told  me.  Where  are  they?  Quick!  Which  way 
did  they  go?" 

But  Nan  only  shook  her  head  and  clung  to  him  a 
little  as  though  she  found  comfort  in  his  being 
there. 

"You  couldn't  catch  them — they  have  had  too 
much  of  a  start/*  she  said.  Then,  with  a  shudder 
of  remembrance,  she  drew  herself  from  Walter's 
grasp  and  looked  at  him  wildly.  "Walter!"  she 
cried.  "There  are  all  our  bags  in  the  auto — Mrs. 
Bragley's  papers — and  those — those — beasts  around 

loose !  Oh — oh "  Before  she  had  finished  she 

had  started  toward  the  road  on  a  run  with  Walter 
in  close  pursuit. 

They  met  the  rest  of  the  anxious  party  on  the 
way,  but  nothing  less  than  an  earthquake  could  have 
stopped  Nan  then.  She  waved  to  them  and  Walter 
shouted  something  unintelligible  as  he  raced  past, 
and  they  had  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  follow 
the  young  lunatics — for  that  is  what  they  called 
them. 

When  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mason  and  the  girls  arrived 
at  the  spot  where  they  had  left  their  car  they  found 
Walter  and  Nan  sitting  on  the  running  board  and 
Nan  holding  something  in  her  hand  which  she  waved 
wildly  at  them. 

"They're  safe!     They're   safe!"   she  called,   as 


Walter  to  the  Rescue  219 

Rhoda,  Grace  and  Bess  ran  up  to  her  and  then 
stopped  short  at  the  disheveled  picture  she  made. 

"Why,  Nan  Sherwood!"  began  Bess,  amazed, 
"what " 

"Why,  Nan,  you've  been  crying!"  exclaimed 
Rhoda,  running  forward  and  putting  a  protecting 
arm  about  her  friend. 

"You  needn't  remind  me  of  it,"  said  Nan  with  a 
hysterical  little  sob.  "I  may  start  again." 

"But,  Nan  dear,  something  very  dreadful  must 
have  happened  to  make  you  cry  so,"  said  Mrs. 
Mason  gravely.  "We  have  been  worried  about 
you." 

Nan  told  them  all  about  it,  with  little  catches  of 
her  breath  in  between,  while  her  listeners  grew 
more  and  more  agitated  and  Bess  wanted  to  hire  a 
dozen  detectives  immediately  and  give  chase. 

"So  they  gave  you  forty-eight  hours,  did  they?" 
asked  Mr.  Mason,  his  mouth  tightening  in  a  grim 
line.  "Well,  I'll  give  them  just  twenty-four  hours 
before  they  land  in  jail.  Come  on,  let  us  get  back 
to  the  town.  I  want  to  set  some  wheels  in  motion." 

"But  let  us  look  for  the  rascals  ourselves  first," 
pleaded  Walter.  "They  may  not  have  run  off  as  far 
as  you  think." 

"Well,  it  won't  do  any  harm  to  take  a  look 
around,"  said  Mr.  Mason. 

He  and  his  son  went  back  into  the  orange  grove 
and  there  spent  the  best  part  of  half  an  hour  trying 


22O         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

to  get  some  trace  of  Nan's  assailants.  They  found 
some  footprints  and  followed  these,  but  presently 
the  marks  were  lost  in  crossing  a  brook. 

Some  men  working  in  the  far  end  of  the  orange 
grove  came  up  and  wanted  to  know  what  was  the 
matter. 

"You  ought  to  get  some  bloodhounds  on  their 
trail,"  said  one  when  they  "nad  told  their  story. 
"Nothing  like  them  dogs  to  trail  a  man." 

"We  haven't  any  bloodhounds  and  we  haven't 
any  time  to  get  them,"  replied  Mr.  Mason. 

"We  might  offer  a  reward  for  their  capture,"  sug- 
gested Walter. 

"We'll  do  that — if  the  authorities  cannot  aid  us," 
said  his  father. 

"Those  rascals  ought  to  be  hung,  Dad." 

"I  wouldn't  say  hung,  Walter.  But  they  ought 
to  be  severely  punished.  I  fear  they  have  scared 
Nan  so  she  will  not  enjoy  her  visit  to  Florida." 

"You  had  better  take  those  papers,  Dad." 

"I  think  so  myself.  I  can't  understand  why  Nan 
kept  them." 

"Oh,  some  of  the  other  girls  thought  she'd  Be 
afraid  to  keep  them,  and  she  wanted  to  show  them 
that  she  wasn't  afraid.  But  now  I  guess  she  had 
better  give  them  up." 

The  search  was  continued  for  a  while  longer  and 
then  father  and  son  returned  to  the  others.  Then 
all  set  out  for  town. 


Walter  to  the  Rescue  221 

The  girls  plied  Nan  with  questions  on  the  way 
back,  but  she  was  too  worn  out  with  her  terrible  ex- 
perience to  answer  them.  The  reaction  was  upon 
her,  and  all  she  wanted  to  do  was  crawl  off  in  a  cor- 
ner somewhere  and  think  things  out. 

They  found  the  only  hotel  in  Sunny  Slopes,  and, 
under  Mr.  Mason's  expert  management,  were  soon 
comfortably  installed  in  a  suite  of  rooms  on  the 
second  floor. 

"You  must  rest  a  bit,  Nan,"  said  Mrs.  Mason 
kindly.  "If  you  don't  you  may  get  sick." 

"Oh,  I  can't  rest,"  declared  the  girl. 

Nevertheless,  Mrs.  Mason  made  her  lie  down,  and 
presently  Nan  dropped  off  into  a  troubled  doze. 
In  the  meanwhile  Mr.  Mason,  followed  by  Walter, 
had  raced  off  to  interview  the  authorities. 

When  Nan  opened  her  eyes  she  found  the  other 
girls  impatiently  waiting  to  speak  to  her. 

"Goodness!  I  thought  you  were  going  to  sleep 
forever,"  said  Bess,  as  she  saw  with  relief  that  Nan's 
eyes  were  open.  Rhoda,  who  had  been  moving 
around  in  the  other  room,  came  to  the  door  and 
peeped  in. 

"And  here  we've  been  waiting  all  this  time  to  tell 
you  the  news."  said  Grace  plaintively. 

"News!  What  news?"  asked  Nan,  still  heavy 
with  sleep. 

"Who  do  you  suppose  is  here?"  asked  Bess,  then, 
went  on  eagerly  without  waiting  for  an  answer. 


222         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

"It's  Linda,  Nan.    And  she  has  Cora  Courtney  with 
her.    We  met  them  in  the  hall  just  now." 

"I  don't  think  Linda  would  have  spoken  to  us, 
and  I'm  sure  we  weren't  going  to,"  Grace  took  up 
the  story,  "but  Cora  stopped,  and  so  Linda  really 
had  to.  I  imagine  they  are  none  too  friendly  from 
the  way  they  acted  to  each  other." 

"It's  strange  we  haven't  seen  Cora  but  once  be- 
fore if  she  has  been  with  Linda  all  the  time,"  Bess 
added  excitedly,  for  this  new  development  had  evi- 
dently quite  driven  Nan's  trouble  from  her  mind. 
"We've  seen  Linda  innumerable  times." 

"Probably  Linda  has  been  making  more  of  a  lady's 
maid  of  Cora  than  usual,"  said  Nan,  putting  a 
hand  to  her  forehead,  which  was  beginning  to  throb 
dully.  "And  lady's  maids  aren't  very  often  seen 
with  their  mistresses,  you  know." 

"But  what  I  can't  understand,"  said  Rhoda 
thoughtfully  from  the  doorway,  "is  why  they  didn't 
stay  at  Palm  Beach.  I  should  like  to  know  what 
they  are  doing  here." 

"Following  me,  probably,"  said  Nan,  sitting  up  in 
bed  with  a  wry  little  laugh.  "People  seem  to  be  get- 
ting in  the  habit !" 

Nan  dressed  a  little  while  after  that  and  went 
•downstairs  for  dinner,  although  her  head  was  still 
aching  painfully. 

The  attack  in  the  orange  grove  and  the  rascals' 
threat  to  Nan  had  now  thoroughly  aroused  Mr. 


Walter  to  the  Rescue  223 

Mason,  and  he  had  been  out  all  afternoon  while  Nan 
slept,  making  inquiries  and  setting  wheels  in  mo- 
tion. 

For  the  short  time  he  had  been  at  work  on  the 
case  he  had  made  really  remarkable  strides.  He  had 
found  out  first  of  all,  through  an  attorney  in  Sunny 
Slopes,  that  Mrs.  Bragley's  papers  were  perfectly 
legal  and  that  she  owned  a  sixth  interest  in  the 
orange  grove,  which  was  worth  a  little  over  thirty 
thousand  dollars.  This  gave  the  widow  five  thou- 
sand dollars — a  veritable  fortune  to  the  poor  woman. 

"I'll  write  to  her  to-night,"  Nan  declared,  even- 
forgetting  the  ache  in  her  head  in  her  pleasure  at 
the  good  news.  "Mr.  Mason,  I  think  you  are  won- 
derful!" 

"No,  I'm  not,  my  dear,"  Mr.  Mason  denied 
grimly.  "If  I  had  been  I  should  have  landed  those 
rascals  who  attacked  you  and  that  crooked  Pacomb 
who  employed  them  in  jail  before  to-night." 

"Pacomb!"  repeated  Nan  breathlessly,  while  the 
others  looked  interested.  "Jacob  Pacomb.  Why, 
he's  the  man  I  told  you  about  who  sold  the  property 
to  Mrs.  Bragley." 

"You  said  he  was  crooked,  Dad,"  said  Walter 
with  interest.  "How  do  you  know?" 

"I've  made  inquiries,"  said  Mr.  Mason  signifi- 
cantly. "And  I've  found  out  that  people  out  here 
don't  think  very  much  of  Mr.  Jacob  Pacomb  and 
his  business  methods.  I  haven't  the  slightest  doubt 


224 

in  the  world,"  he  added  earnestly,  "but  what  Pa- 
comb  has  been  behind  all  these  attempts  to  get  the 
papers  from  you,  Nan." 

"Can't  you  arrest  him?"  Grace  asked  breathlessly. 
"Of  course  you  can !" 

"I  can  as  soon  as  I  prove  that  he's  a  thief,"  her 
father  answered. 

Bess,  Grace  and  Rhoda  slept  well  that  night,  for 
they  were  tired  out  with  excitement,  but  Nan 
scarcely  closed  her  eyes.  Again  and  again  the  in- 
cidents of  the  day  came  vividly  back  to  her  and  she 
would  start  up  nervously  at  the  slightest  sound. 

When  morning  came  she  was  white  and  big-eyed, 
and  the  girls  were  shocked  when  they  saw  her. 

"For  goodness'  sake,  Nan  Sherwood,"  Bess 
scolded,  all  the  time  hovering  anxiously  over  her, 
"I  always  said  that  that  old  woman's  horrible  pa- 
pers would  be  the  death  of  you,  and  from  the  way 
you  look  this  morning  I  guess  I'm  a  good  prophet. 
Here  we  come  to  Florida  for  a  good  time,  and  look 
what  we  get!" 

"You  do  look  all  worn  out,  honey,"  said  Rhoda, 
putting  an  arm  about  her  chum.  "Come  down  on 
the  porch  for  a  little  while  in  the  sunshine.  It  will 
do  you  good." 

"I'm  all  right,"  protested  Nan.  "I  just  have  a 
little  headache,  that's  all." 

"And  no  wonder,  after  all  those  old  papers  have 
made  you  go  through,"  grumbled  Bess,  as  she  fol- 


Walter  to  the  Rescue  225 

lowed  the  girls  out  into  the  hall.  "I'm  only  sur- 
prised that  we  are  not  all  dead  by  this  time." 

"Now  all  that  we  need  to  make  us  completely 
happy,"  chuckled  Nan,  recovering  a  little  of  her  old 
spirits,  "is  to  meet  dear  Linda.  She  always  has 
such  a  pleasant  effect  upon  people." 

"Oh,  we'll  meet  her  all  right,  don't  worry,"  said 
Bess  gloomily.  "She  always  turns  up  when  she  is 
least  wanted." 

After  breakfast,  Walter,  shocked  and  worried  as 
were  all  the  rest  over  Nan's  appearance,  suggested 
that  he  take  her  and  the  other  girls,  if  they  wanted 
to  go,  for  a  little  ride  in  the  automobile. 

Bess  refused  on  the  ground  that  she  had  to  write 
some  letters,  but  the  other  three  said  they  would  go. 
Mr.  Mason  had  taken  charge  of  Mrs.  Bragley's  pa- 
pers, so  that  there  was  that  much  less  for  Nan  to 
worry  about.  She  was  thankful  for  this,  as  she 
rather  listlessly  climbed  into  the  back  seat  with 
Grace  and  Rhoda. 

"Let's  go,  Walter,"  she  said,  as  she  sank  back 
luxuriously  into  her  corner.  "And  I  don't  very 
much  care  if  we  never  get  back." 

Meanwhile,  Bess  was  having  an  adventure  all  by 
herself.  She  went  up  to  her  room  after  the  girls 
left  and  dutifully  wrote  two  letters,  one  to  her 
father  and  one  to  her  mother. 

Then,  having  had  enoughT  of  duty  for  the  pres- 
ent, she  yawned  and  stretched  and  wondered  when 


226         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

Walter  and  the  girls  were  coming  back — or  whether 
they  intended  to  stay  all  day. 

Then  an  impish  sprite  of  mischief  whispered  in 
her  ear  and  her  eyes  danced  merrily.  On  that 
chance  meeting  with  Cora  and  Linda  in  the  hall 
Cora  had  told  her  and  Grace  that  they  were  staying 
in  a  suite  of  rooms  on  the  third  floor,  and  had  asked 
them  to  come  to  see  her  and  Linda. 

And  now,  to  while  away  the  time  till  the  girls' 
return,  Bess  proposed  to  take  advantage  of  Cora's 
invitation  and  call  upon  her — and  Linda. 

She  slipped  along  the  hall,  ran  up  the  stairs  to 
save  waiting  for  the  elevator,  and  finally  found  the 
door,  the  number  of  which  Cora  had  given  her  some 
time  before. 

She  heard  voices  raised  in  altercation  within,  and 
paused  before  knocking.  Then  she  heard  Nan's 
name  spoken  in  Linda's  unpleasant  tones,  and,  quite 
unintentionally,  she  stood  a  moment  playing  eaves- 
dropper. 

"I  tell  you,  she  is  a  thief !"  Linda  was  saying,  in 
a  voice  that  showed  she  was  in  one  of  her  frequent 
rages.  "Nan  Sherwood  has  been  acting  funny  ever 
since  she  came  to  Palm  Beach,  and  that's  why  I've 
followed  her  here  to  see  what  she  is  up  to." 

"Well,  I'll  tell  you  one  thing,"  Cora  shot  back, 
and  Bess  was  curiously  reminded  of  the  turning 
worm.  "I  don't  believe  Nan  Sherwood  is  any  thief. 
I  think  she's  a  mighty  nice  girl.  And  every  time  I 


Walter  to  the  Rescue  227 

think  of  the  mean  trick  you  played  on  her,  and 
how  you  nearly  wrecked  the  school  as  well " 

Bess  drew  in  a  sharp  breath  and  immediately 
came  to  her  senses.  She  knocked  loudly  on  the 
door,  but  the  raised  voices  of  the  girls  within 
drowned  the  sound. 

Linda  had  turned  on  Cora  in  a  fury. 

"You  take  that  back,"  she  shrilled.  "If  you  dare 
tell  anybody  about  my  wrecking  that  steam 
plant "  " 

But  Bess,  unable  to  contain  herself  another  mo- 
ment, tried  the  knob,  felt  the  door  yield,  and  burst 
in  upon  the  astonished  girls. 

"Oh !"  she  cried  triumphantly,  "I  knew  I  couldn't 
be  wrong !  It  was  you,  Linda,  after  all !" 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

CAUGHT 

IT  WAS  lucky  for  Bess  that  Linda's  father  Hap- 
pened in  at  that  moment,  for  Linda,  in  her  rage  at 
thus  being  found  out,  looked  as  though  she  would 
like  to  tear  her  enemy  limb  from  limb. 

As  for  Cora,  she  gave  one  horrified  look  at  Bess, 
burst  into  tears,  and  fled  from  the  room. 

Mr.  Riggs,  who  was  not  at  all  the  pompous,  con- 
ceited man  that  the  girls  at  Lakeview  Hall  had  come 
to  think  him,  looked  after  Cora  for  a  moment  in 
surprise,  then  turned  smilingly  back  to  the  two  girls 
and  asked  Linda  to  introduce  him  to  her  friend. 

For  one  electric  moment  it  looked  as  though 
Linda  were  about  to  refuse.  Then  what  little  com- 
mon sense  she  had  coming  to  her  rescue,  she  sul- 
lenly did  as  she  was  bid  and  Mr.  Riggs  began  to 
ask  a  few  casual  questions  of  Bess  about  how  she 
liked  Florida,  if  she  had  been  there  before,  and 
other  questions,  which  Bess  answered  mechanically. 
Her  eyes  were  upon  Linda  as  she  stood  at  a  window 
with  her  back  to  the  room,  her  fingers  beating  a 
nervous  tattoo  on  the  windowsill. 

228 


Caught  2291 

At  last  Bess  managed  to  break  away  and  was 
starting  toward  the  door  when  she  was  surprised  to 
find  that  Linda  was  following  her. 

The  girl  stopped  her  at  the  door,  and  Bess  thought 
she  had  never  seen  any  one  as  subdued  and  beaten 
as  Linda  looked  at  that  moment. 

"Please,  Bess,"  she  begged,  lowering  her  voice 
so  that  her  father  would  not  hear,  "don't  tell  on  me ! 
No  one  at  Lakeview  Hall  knows  that  I — I  did  that. 
And  no  one  will  unless  you  tell  them.  Please, 
Bess!" 

"N-no,  I  won't  tell,"  said  Bess  hesitantly.  "It 
was  a  horrible  thing  for  you  to  do,  Linda,  and  Dr. 
Beulah  ought  to  know.  But  I — I'm  not  a  tattle- 
tale." 

Then  she  fled  down  the  hall,  down  the  stairs,  and 
into  her  room  again. 

She  told  the  story  to  the  girls  and  Walter  that 
night,  and  they  listened  in  amazement. 

"Well!"  said  Grace.  "And  to  think  that  Cora 
would  be  the  one  to  give  Linda  away." 

"I  don't  know  about  promising  not  to  tell  Doctor 
Beulah,"  said  Nan  thoughtfully.  "It  seems  to  me 
she  ought  to  know " 

"Well,  you  tell  her  then,"  suggested  Rhoda. 

"Oh,  I  couldn't!"  Nan  flashed  back  indignantly, 
and  Rhoda  laughed  at  her. 

"You  see!"  she  said. 

"Well,"  sighed  Grace,  "it's  of  no  use  to  worry 


230         Nari  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

about  it  now,  anyway.    We  can't  do  a  thing  till  we 
get  back  to  Lakeview  Hall." 

When  Mr.  Mason  came  in  that  night  they  ques- 
tioned him  eagerly,  but  he  had  no  real  news  to  tell 
them.  He  had  been  able  to  prove  nothing  definite 
against  Jacob  Pacomb,  and  as  yet  had  found  no 
trace  of  the  men  who  had  so  frightened  Nan. 

And  Nan,  away  down  in  her  heart,  was  still 
frightened,  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  that.  The 
man  had  threatened  her,  had  given  her  forty-eight 
hours  to  turn  over  the  papers,  and  more  than 
twenty-four  hours  of  that  time  had  already  passed! 
If  they  did  not  succeed  in  tracing  the  scoundrels  and 
handing  them  over  to  justice  in  the  next  twenty- four 
hours,  what  might  not  happen! 

Both  Rhoda  and  Grace  shared  her  uneasiness,  and 
lazy  Bess  grumbled  mightily  at  the  loss  of  sleep  con- 
sequent upon  it.  There  is  no  doubt  but  what  the 
girls  would  have  rested  a  great  deal  easier  that 
night  had  they  known  that  a  house  detective,  well 
paid  for  his  services,  kept  watch  outside  Nan's  door 
till  dawn  crept  in  at  the  windows. 

"I  wish  both  of  the  men  were  in  Greenland," 
grumbled  Bess. 

"Yes,  and  without  anything  to  eat  or  drink  and 
'freezing  to  death,"  added  Rhoda. 

"I  can't  understand  why  the  authorities  can't 
catch  them,"  put  in  Grace.  "They  have  a  very  good 
description  of  them." 


Caught  23 I 

"Maybe  they  have  left  Florida,"  said  Nan. 

"Oh,  if  only  they  have,"  cried  Bess.  "But  I  am 
afraid  there  is  no  such  luck." 

It  was  a  weary-eyed  quartette  of  girls  that  made 
its  way  down  to  the  dining-room  that  morning,  and 
breakfast  was  eaten  in  gloomy  silence. 

Walter  eyed  the  girls  with  a  mixture  of  humor 
and  sympathy,  and  once  he  turned  to  his  father  with 
a  grin. 

"I  say,  Dad,"  he  chuckled,  "if  something  isn't 
done  to-day  about  this  business,  I'm  afraid  the  girls 
will  be  dead  by  night.  They  look  half  gone  already." 

After  breakfast  they  wandered  into  the  lobby  of 
the  hotel  to  see  if  there  was  any  mail  for  them. 
Nan  had  not  heard  from  Papa  Sherwood  or  Mom- 
sey  for  almost  a  week,  and  she  was  beginning  to 
feel  neglected  indeed.  If  only  she  could  have  them 
with  her  now,  to  advise  and  help  her  in  this  predica- 
ment! 

"Here's  a  letter  for  you,  Nan,"  Grace  interrupted 
her  rather  unhappy  thoughts.  "And  here's  another, 
with  a  Lakeview  postmark.  Must  be  from  one  of 
the  girls  at  school.  One  for  you,  too,  Rhoda.  Looks 
like  Procrastination's  handwriting." 

Just  then  Bess  made  a  funny  little  sound,  half 
gasp  and  half  exclamation,  and  they  turned  to  her. 
Bess's  face  was  white  and  her  hand  shook  as  she 
grasped  Nan's  arm. 

"Look  at  those  men !"  she  whispered,  and  though 


232         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

it  was  only  a  whisper  it  went  through  Nan  like  a 
knife.  "Over  there — crossing  the  lobby!  Nan! 
Oh,  what  are  you  doing  ?  Don't,  Nan,  he  may  shoot 
you !  Nan !" 

But  Nan  was  already  running  across  the  lobby, 
unmindful  of  staring  eyes,  all  her  fear  turned  to 
anger  at  these  men  who  dared  appear  in  public  after 
the  cowardly  attack  they  had  made  upon  her.  She 
darted  in  front  of  them  and  blocked  their  way,  her 
eyes  blazing  and  her  body  tense. 

The  short,  fat  man  started  at  sight  of  her  and 
drew  back.  But  black  rage  darkened  his  compan- 
ion's face  and  he  made  a  gesture  as  though  to  push 
Nan  out  of  the  way.  He  might  have  done  it,  too, 
and  made  his  escape  easily,  for  the  curious  people 
who  had  gathered  in  the  lobby  seemed  paralyzed 
with  amazement,  had  not  Rhoda  suddenly  appeared 
at  her  chum's  side,  a  little  flame  of  white-hot  in- 
dignation. 

"Don't  dare  touch  her!"  she  cried  fiercely. 
"You've  done  enough — you — you " 

"Here,  here,  what's  this?"  asked  an  authoritative 
voice,  and  a  big  burly  man,  an  assistant  manager  of 
the  hotel,  pushed  his  way  through  the  gathering 
crowd. 

"These  girls  are  crazy,"  cried  the  tall  man,  turn- 
ing furiously  upon  the  newcomer,  while  his  fat 
companion  took  out  an  immense  silk  handkerchief 
and  nervously  wiped  his  forehead.  "If  you  don't 


Caught  233 

get  them  out  of  the  way  and  lock  them  up,  I'll  sue 
your  place " 

"Officer,  arrest  those  men !" 

Clear  and  startling,  the  voice  rang  out  above  the 
confusion,  and  the  two  men,  without  waiting  to  see 
who  their  new  enemy  was,  made  a  dash  for  the 
open  door,  which  was  still  only  defended  by  Nan 
and  Rhoda. 

But  the  hotel  man  was  quicker  than  they.  He 
sprang  before  them  and  pushed  them  back  into  the 
crowd,  which  opened  to  admit  them  and  closed 
around  them  again,  making  escape  utterly  impos- 
sible. 

For  a  moment,  Nan  and  Rhoda,  left  outside  of 
the  circle  around  the  men,  could  see  nothing  of  what 
happened.  But  presently  Mr.  Mason — it  was  he 
who,  coming  suddenly  upon  the  scene  in  the  lobby, 
had  demanded  the  arrest  of  the  men — pushed  his 
way  through  the  crowd  and  beckoned  to  Nan.  She 
went  with  him,  and  Rhoda  followed  close  behind. 
Grace  and  Bess  had  already  pushed  their  way  into 
the  crowd. 

The  house  detective,  who  had  been  in  consultation 
with  Mr.  Mason  when  the  thing  happened,  had 
taken  the  two  men  into  custody.  The  tall,  thin 
scoundrel,  who  had  appeared  in  Nan's  dreams  for 
many  restless  nights,  stood  there  sullenly,  glowering 
around  fiercely  at  the  curious  faces  while  his  com- 
panion used  his  handkerchief  more  vehemently  and 


234         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

seemed  to  be  growing  more  nervous  with  every 
minute  that  passed. 

"Can  you  swear  that  these  are  the  men  who  at- 
tacked you  in  an  orange  grove  near  here  yesterday 
and  demanded  of  you  certain  papers  which  were 
not  in  your  possession  ?"  the  detective  gravely  asked 
of  Nan. 

"Yes,  sir,"  answered  the  girl  eagerly.  Walter 
had  slipped  up  beside  her  and  was  holding  her  hand 
in  a  comforting  grip,  but  she  did  not  know  it. 

"Can  you  also  testify  that  they  have  attempted  to 
obtain  possession  of  these  papers  at  various  other 
occasions  during  the  last  two  or  three  weeks?"  the 
man  went  on,  and  this  time  Nan  only  nodded. 

"Well,"  said  the  detective,  turning  grimly  to  his 
prisoners,  while  the  crowd,  not  having  the  slightest 
idea  what  the  commotion  was  about,  but  with  a 
keen  love  of  the  dramatic,  edged  closer,  "I  reckon 
the  little  lady's  testimony  is  sufficient  to  send  you 
two  up  for  quite  a  little  vacation." 

"Wait  a  minute,  officer,"  whined  the  fat  man,  in 
spite  of  his  companion's  attempt  to  stop  him.  "You 
want  Jacob  Pacomb.  He's  the  man  who  got  us  into 
this  mess." 

"So  you've  turned  stool  pigeon,  too,  as  well  as 
crook?"  drawled  the  detective,  while  Nan  and  Mr. 
Mason  exchanged  a  triumphant  look.  "Yes,  I 
reckon  we  do  want  Jacob  Pacomb,  too.  We've  been 
wanting  him  for  a  long  while.  But  since  this  is  the 


Caught  235 

first  chance  we've  had  to  get  the  goods  on  him,  we 
won't  waste  any  time  doing  it.  Will  one  of  you 
gentlemen  call  up  the  police  station?" 

Mr.  Mason  nodded,  and  the  crowd  opened  to  make 
way  for  him. 

But  at  the  mention  of  the  police  station,  the  fat 
man  broke  down  completely  and,  evidently  nursing 
some  false  hope  that  by  telling  all  he  knew  he  might 
get  off  easy  himself,  he  babbled  unceasingly  until 
the  police  patrol  drew  up  before  the  door.  His  com- 
panion stood  off  by  himself,  with  apparently  no  in- 
terest whatever  in  the  proceedings. 

"Fine,"  said  the  detective,  rising  and  patting  the 
short  man  on  the  back  as  two  policemen  made  their 
way  into  the  lobby  and  saluted  him.  "Now  you  can 
tell  the  rest  of  your  story  to  the  judge.  Will  you 
come  with  us,  sir?"  he  asked,  turning  to  Mr.  Mason 
as  the  policeman  took  the  men  in  charge.  "We  may 
need  your  testimony  to  round  up  Jacob  Pacomb." 

Mr.  Mason  nodded,  but  paused  for  a  moment  on 
his  way  to  the  door  to  speak  to  Nan. 

"Everything's  fine,"  he  said,  beaming  down  upon 
her.  "We'll  get  this  Pacomb  where  we  want  him, 
and  then  your  troubles — and  Mrs.  Bragley's — will 
be  over,  Nan.  Tell  you  all  about  it  when  I  get 
back." 

Nan  smiled  back  at  him,  and  then  as  the  crowd, 
its  curiosity  satisfied,  began  to  disperse,  she  sank 
down  into  one  of  the  comfortable  chairs  and  looked 


236         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

weakly  up  at  her  excited  chums.    Then  for  the  first 

time  she  noticed  Walter — and  the  fact  that  he  was 

holding  her  hand. 

"Where  did  you  get  it?"  she  asked. 

"What?" 

"My  hand?" 

Walter  chuckled  and  answered  slyly: 

"I  took  it  when  you  weren't  looking." 

She  smiled  at  him  weakly — but  it  was  rather  a 

satisfying  smile. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
"WHEN  THE  SPIRIT  MOVES" 

"On.  I'M  so  excited,"  said  Grace,  looking  from 
Walter  to  Nan.  "Just  think,  Nan !  Everything  hap- 
pened just  like  a  story." 

"Well,  I  must  say,"  said  Bess  emphatically,  "that 
for  my  part  I'm  glad  it's  over.  I  may  be  able  to 
sleep  to-night  without  expecting  to  be  stabbed  in  the 
back." 

"Goodness!  they  weren't  after  you,"  said  Nan 

practical!}'.  "I  was  the — the "  she  paused  for 

a  word  and  Walter  obligingly  supplied  it. 

"Goat?"  he  asked. 

"Goat,"  she  agreed  with  a  smile. 

"Oh,  but  you  were  wonderful,  Nan,"  said  Grace 
worshipfully.  "I  never  would  have  had  the  courage 
to  face  those  men  the  way  you  did." 

"But  if  it  hadn't  been  for  Rhoda,  they  might  have 
got  away  even  then,"  said  Nan  generously,  and 
Rhoda  flushed  with  pleasure. 

"I'm  glad  if  I  helped  at  all,"  the  girl  from  Rose 
Ranch  said  modestly. 

It  was  not  till  the  girls  were  alone  in  their  room 

237 


238         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

that  they  remembered  the  unopened  morning  mail. 
Nan  had  been  holding  her  letters  tight  in  her  hand 
through  all  the  excitement.  They  opened  them  with- 
out much  interest,  for  even  letters  could  hardly 
hope  to  compete  with  the  excitement  of  this 
morning. 

One  of  Nan's  letters  was  from  Momsey,  and  she 
put  it  away  with  a  tender  smile,  for  she  always  saved 
the  best  till  the  last.  Then  she  opened  the  other  let- 
ter, which  was  from  Laura  Polk,  and  immediately 
her  indifference  changed  to  interest. 

In  the  letter,  which  Nan  read  aloud,  Laura  re- 
counted excitedly  to  Nan  how  Dr.  Prescott  had 
found  that  Linda  was  responsible  for  the  wrecking 
of  the  steam  plant  and  that  Linda's  father  would  un- 
doubtedly be  asked  to  pay  the  bill  for  repairs.; 

"Does  she  say  how  they  found  out?"  questioned 
Bess  quickly. 

"One  of  the  servants  saw  Linda  down  there  witK 
some  rope.  She  was  taken  sick  and  went  home  for 
a  while,  and  did  not  know  anything  about  the  trouble 
at  the  school.  But  she  is  well  now  and  ready  to  go 
back  to  her  work,  and  in  talking  to  Doctor  Beulah 
the  story  came  out." 

"I'm  mighty  glad  Doctor  Beulah  knows,"  said 
Bess.  "I  don't  suppose  any  of  us  could  have  told 
on  Linda,  but  she  deserved  to  be  found  out — the 
horrid  thing." 

"I  don't  suppose  Linda  can  help  her  disposition," 


"When  the  Spirit  Moves"  239 

said  Grace  mildly.  "I  heard  mother  say  once  that 
she  was  her  own  worst  enemy." 

"I  suppose  she  is,"  said  Rhoda  skeptically.  "But 
that  doesn't  make  us  like  her  any  better !" 

Then  Nan  put  down  Laura's  letter  and  turned  to 
Momsey's.  It  was  a  long,  long  letter,  and  she  read 
it  over  twice. 

"Dear  Momsey!"  she  murmured  to  herself. 
"How  much  I  will  have  to  tell  you  when  I  see  you 
again !" 

A  few  hours  later  Mr.  Mason  came  back  with  the 
news  that  Jacob  Pacomb  had  been  arrested  for  the 
crooked  swindler  that  he  was. 

It  seemed  that  at  the  time  he  had  sold  the  property 
to  Mrs.  Bragley's  husband,  Pacomb  had  made  five 
other  grants,  and,  now  that  the  property  had  proved 
more  valuable  than  he  had  hoped  for,  he  was  trying 
underhand  means  to  recover  it. 

The  men  who  had  made  life  miserable  for  Nan 
for  the  last  few  weeks  and  had  almost  wrecked 
Bess's  temper  and  who  were  now  gracing  twin  cells 
in  prison,  were  simply  agents  of  Pacomb's. 

"So  now  everything  is  settled  happily,"  Mr. 
Mason  finished.  "We  can  go  back  to  Palm  Beach 
whenever  the  spirit  moves  us." 

The  spirit  did  not  move  them  for  several  days, 
however,  for  Sunny  Slopes  was  a  pretty  place  and 
the  surrounding  country  beautiful.  Also  Nan  had 
telegraphed  the  joyful  news  to  Mrs.  Bragley  and, 


240         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

since  she  had  given  the  address  of  the  hotel  where 
they  were  staying,  she  was  eager  to  receive  a  letter 
in  answer  from  the  widow  before  they  went  back 
to  the  Royal  Poinciana. 

"Although  I  do  hope  she  writes  soon,"  she  had 
confided  to  Walter.  "For  I  am  really  getting  home- 
sick for  Palm  Beach  again." 

The  girls  went  to  see  Linda  the  day  after  Nan 
received  Laura's  letter,  but  found  that  she  and  Cora 
had  left  without  leaving  word  of  any  kind  for  any 
of  them. 

"Poor  Cora!"  Bess  said,  as  they  made  their  way 
down  to  the  street.  "I  guess  she  hasn't  had  any 
easy  time  of  it  since  she  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag 
to  me  about  Linda." 

At  last  the  expected  letter  came  from  Mrs.  Brag- 
ley,  and  the  girls  gathered  around  Nan  eagerly  as 
she  read  it  aloud.  One  had  only  to  read  the  first 
line  to  tell  that  the  old  woman  was  overjoyed  at  her 
good  fortune.  The  letter  fairly  overflowed  with 
gratitude  to  Nan  for  what  she  had  done. 

"It  has  lifted  a  weight  from  my  shoulders, 
my  dear,  such  as  you  will  never  know,"  the  let- 
ter finished.  "At  least  I  hope  and  pray  that  you 
may  not.  And  if  the  time  ever  comes  when  you 
need  help,  don't  be  afraid  to  come  to  a  lonely 
old  woman,  who  will  be  proud  and  happy  to 
pay  back  a  little  of  the  debt  she  owes  you." 


"When  the  Spirit  Moves"  241 

"That's  worth  every  disagreeable  thing  we  went 
through,  isn't  it,  girls?"  Nan  asked,  looking  up  at 
them  with  shining  eyes.  "Isn't  it  wonderful  to  be 
able  to  make  somebody  just  a  little  bit  happier  be- 
cause they  have  met  you?" 

"Maybe  that's  why  we  are  all  so  happy,"  said 
Bess  gaily,  flinging  her  arms  about  her  chum.  "Be- 
cause we  have  you,  Nan  Sherwood." 

"Now  with  Nan's  villains  and  Linda  off  our 
minds,"  drawled  Rhoda,  sinking  lazily  down  into 
the  depths  of  a  big  chair,  "we  ought  to  be  able  to 
enjoy  ourselves." 

"Will  we !"  cried  Grace  softly.  "Just  you  watch 
us!" 

The  next  morning  they  started  back  for  Palm 
Beach.  Walter  asked  Nan  to  ride  with  him,  and 
she  surprised  herself  as  much  as  him  by  accepting 
the  invitation. 

She  was  feeling  joyously  carefree  and  venture- 
some this  morning,  and  it  was  wonderful  to  be  be- 
side Walter  in  the  car  with  the  sweet  wind  rushing 
by  and  the  country  unfolding  in  tropical  luxuriance 
at  every  turn. 

"Oh,  Walter,  aren't  you  glad  you're  alive?"  she 
asked  of  the  youth  at  her  side. 

Walter's  eyes  were  happy  as  he  turned  to  her. 

"You  said  it,"  he  answered  fervently. 

Just  then  Bess,  in  the  car  ahead,  looked  back  at 
them.  Was  it  only  Nan's  imagination  again  or  did 


242         Nan  Sherwood  at  Palm  Beach 

the  look  seem  to  say,  more  plainly  than  any  words 
could  have  done: 

"Nan  Sherwood,  what  did  I  tell  you?"  . 

But  Nan  just  then  did  not  care  what  Bess  thought. 
She  was  very  happy  and  that  being  so  she  meant  to 
enjoy  herself  thoroughly  during  the  remainder  of 
her  stay  in  Florida. 

And  now,,  with  many  good  times  still  in  store  for 
them  at  Palm  Beach,  we  will  say  good-bye  to  Nan 
Sherwood  and  her  chums. 

THE   END 


UNIVERSITY  of 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


REC'D  LD-URU 


ft.     APR 

1 0 1982 


1  21982 


FormL9 — 15m-10,'48(B1039)444 


3505         Nan  Sherwood 


PS 

5505 

C2273n 


3   1158 


1409 


